Lose Your Illusions
by obsidian dreamer
Summary: A plot by the Legion forces two foes to work together. In the blackness and the cold, they will see and learn, more than they ever wanted to. Contination from Iron Skin, Golden Heart. COMPLETE but to be continued...
1. Prologue The Patient Hunter

**Lose Your Illusions**.

Author Notes and Random Declarations: Okay, here we go; first off, I do not, have not and most probably will never own any of these characters; they're copyright Sega team and various comics. Again, this covers my rear from any lawyers after a fast buck.

This new fanfiction will be number five in the series so far; I really can't stress enough that you have to read them in the following order for everything to make sense: Angel of Darkness and Ice – The Best Medicine – A Bloodstone Rose – Iron Skin, Golden Heart – Lose Your Illusions. This will introduce you to the circumstances behind the scenario as it is now in this series of fanfics. Hope to hear from the old crowd of reviewers again (TH – in answer: Maaaaaaybe :-)) Right, enough waffle:

Let's get this show on the road again.

Prologue: The Patient Hunter.

It was the sound of running water that alerted her; instinctively, her hand paused mere inches from the access panel; _so, an opportunity to;_ she chuckled throatily as she found the right word; _mount this prise once and for all_. With a naughty giggle and a dirty mind oozing sudden plans, the joint second-in-command of the renegade technocratic faction of echidnas upon Angel Island, formally titled Lady Kommissar even if her name was Lien-Da, suddenly changed from her ice-cold business persona to a sleek sexual predator, programmed to seduce. Quickly slipping out of her customary uniform, which she only wore because she had been inspecting the construction of the final stage of this development with her brother and Kragok's pedantic attitude to rules, she revealed a skin-tight leather outfit beneath, cut both high and low to emphasise the benefits nature had been kind enough to bestow upon her. Combined with her sharp wit, keen charisma and immaculate fashion sense, it was a package that could reduce most men, and a few women who were so inclined, to puddles at her feet; _but somehow not this one_.

She ran her teeth along her tongue, contemplating for a second as she sized up the problem now facing her; well, it wasn't so much a problem as a challenge. A challenge that had teased her, so used to getting her own way in this department at least, to action; _he's got a high threshold – most men wouldn't even bother to resist – maybe he's got kids and a wife, or he's gay_; she shrugged, suddenly realising whatever the reason for his refusal to, if not acknowledge, at least response to her advances, it was immaterial; _he can't resist forever – he'll break in the end, they all do_; as the door slid soundlessly open, she ducked her head inside, eyes dilating momentarily as she realised the advantage of surprise now lay with her; _I'll get my way_.

He was facing away from her, hunched over as he appeared to be running water at the sink, the cloth in his right hand occasionally used to rub at a certain spot while his other hand, the one encased in a white glove, rather than the standard red that made up the majority of most dark Legion uniform, manipulating the power of the water stream he was using. Behind his shuffling form, Lien gazed at his back, her eyes lingering on the whiteness of his glove as she again tried to understand what it must have been like to live with such a disability.

XXX

The Dark Legion, perhaps more than any other employer on Angel Island, was completely equal opportunities; indeed, many recruits who helped strengthen the Legion were those who had originally suffered some form of handicap, natural or otherwise, that had been corrected by the surgery and technology of the Legion. These new implants corrected their physical flaws at the same time as it shielded their bodies from the remorseless advances of the Legion's implacable, seemingly inevitable foe; the steel implants of the legionnaires holding fast against the march of time and, most importantly, the death time could carry in its wake. However, in his wisdom, the lord of the Dark Legion, Enerjak; _or Dimitri, depending on if we're alone or not_; turned no-one away, for none should be cast out to suffer death's caress; fear and resistance to change was to be expected and wrestled with individually; only when the individual was ready in his or her own mind to begin the next stage of the process would he or she be referred to the immediate superior, who would assess the potential candidate and either back or withdraw the motion. Hence why legionnaires such as the specimen standing before Lien-Da existed.

His white left glove was a marker that he suffered a disability; in his case, he was a mute. Other colours meant other conditions, she distinctly remembered a grey glove meant the wearer was deaf, but beyond that her memory failed her and she didn't really care; all she needed to concern herself with now was him, or more specifically, how she could persuade him to leave the tools of his trade for a little while. As she planned, she watched his diligent work and silently sniggered; _if I were him, I'd get myself upgraded just to get rid of the cleaning duties_. This was a valid point; the Legion was not so open-minded as to present blind legionnaires with guns – disabled members of the legion were not permitted to carry firearms or enter combat training, and as such often ended up with unpleasant, menial tasks such as cleaning. This one; _I really should find his name out, maybe I can break the ice afterwards_; had been hanging about for a bit, cleaning up the barracks and the other officer's rooms, often accompanied by a mop bucket so old you could hear it coming; one of the front wheels squeaked abominably. Remembering this fact, Lien smiled winningly and slipped into the room, her footfalls soft as to not alarm her quarry as her mind chased phantoms down an avenue pleasing to her; _if this comes off, I'll get to see if he can squeak as loud as that bucket of his does_. With that, she casually threw her clothes towards the sumptuous bed that took up a large proportion of the room floor space, acting as though she'd just come in, freezing at the 'sight' of the interloper.

"Hello there?"

His answering turn was slow but not unhurried; he was in an awkward starting position and had to be careful not to upset his momentum, killing the tap as he faced his superior, bowing as he was unable to articulate the proper greeting. Never one for standing on ceremony, Lien shook her head and stepped inside properly, the door behind her sliding shut automatically, allowing her privacy to being her game,

"No need for that; if anything I should be bowing to you", she did, allowing him a full view of what her top cunningly failed to conceal, "I was disturbing your endeavours". He cocked his head, for a second she dared hope, before he nodded and slowly turned back around, cheating her again as she fumed impotently; _damn, he's playing hard to get – why is he playing hard to get? If anyone should be playing hard to get, it's me_; fighting down her temper, she took a breath and tried option two; quickly and silently closing the distance between them, she placed her bare hand atop his gloved one, slowly turning to shut off the tap flow again as he looked at her sidelong, though his uniform mask failed to show anything of merit.

"I didn't mean you had to get straight back to work", her tone was sultry, beckoning as the sound of the dripping tap was soon the only noise audible to the both of them, "you just, startled me was all". This way seemed to be getting faster results than just barrelling in with both feet; if she played it cool, she might get somewhere with this obtuse customer. Seeing him hesitate, the seducer took the lead, subtle word-play opening her opportunity,

"Actually, now you're here", she stepped back, slowly spinning on her axis as she tried to plan his move; _he respects authority, he wouldn't refuse an order_; there was a chink in the armour, something she could go at, "could you do me a favour?" As she expected and hoped, he nodded, unable to ignore the unspoken demand from a much higher rank than he was; she knew this, and she pounced,

"I want to change into something", she indicated her outfit, how it clung to every curve alluringly, "a little more comfortable, but the zip's a little stuck. Be a sweetheart and ease it free for me would you?" _That was smooth_; normally thinking like that wasn't her forte, but then again she usually didn't have to employ charm to secure an evening's entertainment; her body was usually enough. She felt something tremor on her back, a faint, continual buzz as the perfectly greased zip began to slide down and then, finally, the fluttering sensation of air on her naked back fur. Her breath quickened, surely it wouldn't be long before she added this encounter to her bedpost notches, when something ruined the mood as surely as a bucket of icy water.

A loud, heavy knock reverberated throughout the whole room; she jumped in shock at the sudden noise as a voice that matched the knock perfectly boomed through the metal to her,

"Lady Kommissar, a word with you?" He had acted before she could try and redress the situation; a second later, the door slid open once more to reveal an intimidating figure. The newcomer was also an echidna, but differed from the other two in that he was the most obviously augmented. One of his forearms had been replaced with a tri-pronged claw, the digits flexing impatiently as his mechanical eye replacement swept the room with a red beam, cutting right to the heart of the matter as he pointed at the mute cleaner,

"You, what are you doing here?" Lien could only assume her would-be partner had tried to make a bad situation better and as Kragok pointed the situation lightened from her point of view,

"Out"; he jerked his thumb over his shoulder; in response, the lower ranking orderly hastily gathered up the tools of his trade and made to depart, shoulders hunched and posture submissive as he excused himself. A growl rose in Kragok's throat as he was denied his talking time until security was restored; to hurry the process, the centre of his claw glowed red for a second and a sudden spark of ruby lightning was ejected from it, impacting on the departing back of the one who prevented him making his announcement; Lien saw the one she wanted stiffen at the sudden pain before the door sealed both twins in, alone in a private world.

XXX

"Kragok", Lien groaned, falling face first onto her bed as bitter ashes of disappointment filled her mouth; she glared at her impassive twin as she rolled onto her back, regarding him upside down, "you let him get away". He cut her off with a slash from his organic hand,

"This situation is worth more than your gratification", his eye blinked uncertainly, a sure sign he was excited as his voice picked up speed, "all is in place; this facility is finally fully operational and our plan can be put into motion", his one good eye looked over her critically, "you are aware of what's at stake here?"

"Yes, more than you know", she flipped to her feet once more, meeting his gaze levelly, "I know that if Dimitri, oh we're alone, it doesn't matter", she snapped as he made to correct her. His need for secrecy was one of the things that really bugged her, even if she could see this was a situation that called for utmost care to avoid a slip. Together with Kragok, she was one of only two echidnas, other than the grandmaster himself, who knew that the former lord of the Dark Legion Dimitri, their great grandfather, and his recent cybernetic replacement Enerjak were one and the same being. A great tragedy had befallen the venerable echidna upon his return to the flesh and he had almost been slain by it; only by embracing the Central Dogma of the Dark Legion, the final release from the clutches of death, had he survived to continue his noble work. He had gone to great lengths to keep his survival secret; sometimes Lien feared that he was hiding from whatever had struck him down, faking his own death to avoid a dreadful fate. She shook off such brooding however; this was not the time for it,

"If he finds out, it'll be our necks on the block – Jesus Kragok, if he knew what we were trying her we'd both be in the brig so fast our feet wouldn't touch the floor".

"Hence the secrecy", Kragok countered off-hand, "the first he will know of our idea is when we deliver the guardian and those who serve him to his feet", she saw his claw flex, a soldier's desire to crush his opponent made manifest, "then they can be disposed of, and the way paved for liberty".

"Maybe, I but I still don't like it".

"You can't back out now".

"I never said that", she spat back, putting a hand to her head as she composed herself; sometimes her twin could really rub her up the wrong way, "I've got tracers on them both, we'll know when to strike".

"Good", the male nodded once and then smiled, "when this ends Lien, our names will live forever", he turned to go, pausing only to add, "as shall we all", before leaving her alone with her thoughts.

XXX

Lien sat down, suddenly tired as she ran the plan that had grown from one of Kragok's all-night plotting binges to this over in her head again. This entire base had been constructed, the echidnas staffing it secreted and the money behind the investment embezzled without Dimitri's permission or notice; she'd never disobeyed him like this before. The stakes were high, but this was one hell of a gamble – if it didn't work, she and Kragok would probably wish they'd never been born. _But it's too late to back out now_; the walls around her were proof of that – this much work couldn't be undone at the drop of a hat. Sighing, she reclined back, diverting her attention from such problematic thoughts with a little mental picturing; still he had eluded her, but, her smile grew wider, more subtle as her eyes glittered with intellectual certainty, in the long run it didn't matter. _I've got all the time in the world_; she lay back, feeling the soft mattress give under her bodyweight, moderate though it was and let her imagination run, picturing what the climax of her inevitable triumph would be; _he will be mine, eventually…_

A/N: Uh oh, the legion's up to its old tricks – this ain't good news for Knuckles and gang…


	2. Chapter 1 The First Blow Falls

Chapter 1 – The First Blow Falls.

A/N: So here we go; the plot thickens and the Legion go on the offensive, but first:

HHH – You think your dreams are worrying; believe me, don't even look at the dream diary I used to keep – I read it now and my hair stands on end!

DH – Technically it would be a really bad thing for Lien to have a crush on Knuckles due to the fact they're related (Dimitri is Knuckles' X-uncle, so that make her his X-aunt many times removed). As for the other bit in your reviews, well all I can say is money's no real incentive to someone who only cares about settling past wrongs. Still, I love a reviewer who sets out to try and see through the cliff-hangers; it just makes them more fun to write properly!

RGN – Believe me, it's never good news when the Legion start thinking!

Ri2 – Nasty plans indeed; I'm an evil author sometimes.

They had assembled in the centre hall of their cramped, recently built home; all seventy or so members that made up the garrison of this new base of the Dark Legion, heeding the call of their commander. It was confined and uncomfortable, but considering the speed at which the base had been constructed, it was passable as accommodation. There was a general murmur of conversation, as there always is when a large number of people gather together, awaiting the declaration from someone higher rank than they all were, unaware that behind the scenes, the last few touches of the speech were being made.

"You do it"; Kragok hissed, carefully pointing the amplification unit at the floor to avoid broadcasting the silent argument that was raging between himself and his sister, "you're better with words than I am".

"It's your plan", she countered expertly; _and therefore your neck if anyone squeals to Dimitri_; "you have to tell them about it. Besides, you've got a clearer idea of where you need everyone to be at what time – now get a move on", she flicked her eyes to her wrist, reminding herself of the time, "we've only got a few minutes before the strike team makes its move; you better go tell them about the guest we're going to have". Kragok snarled a little before giving up with a huff, moving forwards as he growled bad-temperedly,

"I hate making speeches". Lien decided to chalk one up on him,

"Don't worry; if you get stage-fright, just imagine everyone who's listening is stood there in their underwear".

"Easier for you than me; you've probably got first hand experience with most of them"; Lien flushed a little, that had been good even by her standards, but even this she could counter a little,

"And who said I was better at words?" Kragok paused in his movement to the front of the hall just enough to deliver a brotherly look of irritation before disappearing; Lien shook her head as, a second later, his voice boomed throughout the hallway, informing all the assembled troopers of their new duty, the impact it could have on the Legion if it all went well and what their roles would be. _He's not bad at talking_; for some reason her brother stayed out of the limelight if at all possible, preferring to stay quiet in the shadows if he could; Lien puzzled over this for a second before shrugging and returning to her observation of his speech. As she tuned in with half an ear, already having repeated this plan so often it was ingrained into her mind, she, and no-one else for that matter, had no idea that, as the main outcome of the plan was laid out before the assembled, shocked throng, it was already being dissected and examined minutely by someone who would see it fail.

XXX

"Wyn", Lara looked up, buttoning up the last few steps of her coat against the unseasonable chill; though the sun was warm, the wind that was now playfully tousling her dreadlocks was certainly not and as such she'd brought her coat for the walk home from her work. However, as the brown echidna waiting for her waved and grinned, she suddenly realised it might not have been necessary after all,

"Hi Lara", as she approached, Wyn spread his arms, allowing his love to nestle in and give a squeeze, thanking him unspeakingly as he indicated the battered old hover-car he'd brought with him,

"Well, couldn't let you walk home from here now could I? You'd be frozen before you got half-way; spirits bless the great Echidnopolis summer time". She smiled in agreement as Wyn raised his eyes to the heavens,

"Well, it's not that bad", she took his arm, the wind whistling in her ears muffling the sounds of movement from behind her, "at least we're in the car now; hey", a hand fell on her shoulder; she turned to see who had knocked her only to see a fog of sudden white, the taste acrid on her tongue, causing her to gag. She was dimly aware of Wyn's sudden cry of anger; everything was starting to swim, the vague idea of her being drugged beginning to percolate her mind, her body reacting instinctively even if those instincts were dulled by the chemicals now racing around her bloodstream to subdue her. The last thing she recalled before the sense of vertigo, slipping in darkness, was a heavy impact on her left fist.

It had happened so fast; Wyn had glanced over at Lara's sharp call and just seen her cough, one of the three echidnas, dressed in patient garments from her hospital, slipping something back into his cuff as Lara began swaying, pulling on his arm. Shock gave way to anger; _they've done something to her, I'll…_; the brown echidna reacted as the first one tried to catch Lara's falling body, seemingly ignoring the heavy punch she managed to throw before the sedatives knocked her out. Throwing himself to the side, the brown echidna grappled with one of the assailants; though he had lost some of his physique due to injury, he had still once been a competent sky-ball player with the muscles to match. Using his strength and height, he tossed his opponent back, throwing a sharp kick that connected with the thigh of the would-be kidnapper; unbalanced, the other echidna was bowled over. Wyn mentally ticked him off, he was down and couldn't fight for a few seconds, when something caught his eye about the other echidna; as he'd fallen, part of his hospital disguise had been broken, the cuff of his top falling back, revealing; _metal, metal where flesh should be?_ With a start Wyn realised who he was up against, who was doing this and in that fraction of a second, he seized up.

Something heavy and hard crashed into the side of his head like a wrecking ball and a split-second later it felt like it had conservatively done the same sort of damage. Silver stars burst before Wyn's eyes and his ears filled with a low, monotonous buzzing, limbs turning to lead as he slumped to the floor, unable to carry on as, twisting in his fall, he saw blurrily a larger shape screech to a halt on the road next to his own car. _Move_; he silently demanded from his inert arms and legs; _move damn it, I can't let them get away with this_; a little life filtered back into them, but far too little, far too late; he could only watch as the three kidnappers, two of them supporting Lara's inert body between them, raced for their getaway vehicle, the doors flung open for them, the back of the hi-jacked ambulance swallowing the stolen female echidna with cold, unfeeling precision as the snatch team struck, pulling the doors shut. Wyn managed to clamber to his feet, still unsteady as nausea choked him slightly, something warm trickling down the side of his head as his ears were suddenly assailed by a tortured scream; the lights of the ambulance flashing and sirens screaming as the Dark Legion strike team took off, escaping from the scene of the crime and, as had been planned, leaving only a single witness to their nefarious actions.

Wyn stood, trembling as he watched with disbelief; the ambulance had exited the hospital car park and was departing at breakneck speed, allowing the kidnappers to escape with their captive. For a second the brown echidna refused to believe what had just happened, clung to the childish belief that if he closed his eyes and counted to five, none of this would be real; Lara would be by his side once more and they'd be on their way to his flat. _No_; tearing himself away from the comfortable but still false illusion, Wyn forced himself to face the facts; _Lara's been kidnapped by the Dark Legion, and standing here moping about it isn't helping!_ Suddenly angry with himself for wasting time, Wyn took off as a plan, the only workable plan, took form and crystallised within his mind; with a burst of speed he was out the hospital grounds and heading for the only place in Station Square that could possibly help at the same time his good left hand plunged into the pocket of his jacket; _I can only pray I typed the number in right_…

XXX

With a yell, Charmy was sent sailing through the air and, so typical with his luck, the flight was just too short to let him take to the air properly; in a split-second he had to align himself to roll with the throw as best he could, but even when he did so it still hurt when he came down to earth. The landing crushed the air from his chest with a whoosh of air, the bee winded even as he tried to push himself back to his feet, carry on fighting, but when one tap knocked him back to the floor and a booted foot pinned his chest to the floor, he knew this one was over.

"How'd I…do?" He managed to gasp; for confirmation Knuckles flicked his glance over to where Vector was reclining, the stop-watch in the crocodile's hand catching the time and allowing him to scrutinise it. With a grunt, the reptile called over,

"Two-nineteen; not too shabby buzz-boy, but you shoulda seen the throw coming".

"I slipped", the youngest member of the Chaotix answered even as he used both hands to prise the guardian's shoe off his flattened chest fur; Knuckles snorted once with satisfaction, leaning down to help pull the bee to his feet.

"Nice work; just keep your guard up a little more and yahhey!" With a burst of speed, Charmy let his feet slip out from under him, curving his striped abdomen up and around; Knuckles felt something part the fur on the side of his arm,

"And you're stung", Charmy informed him, settling back to the floor even as the echidna instinctively ripped his arm back, checking to see if any venom had actually been injected, "don't worry, I missed; couldn't let you have it all your own way could I?" The guardian looked up, raising an eyebrow as he considered the fast one the bee had just pulled; _nice idea, but I doubt it'd have too much practical use_; trying to phrase it right, Knuckles added his two cents worth,

"It was a good trick; smart move to think on your feet like that", Charmy grinned at the praise before Knuckles raised a warning finger, "but I wouldn't try it in a real fight just in case; if you miss you're basically toast and anyway a skilled opponent wouldn't let you under his guard like that".

"So how come you did?" Knuckles chortled as he clapped the bee on the shoulder,

"I thought it was over and you caught me out", his grip suddenly tightened, pulling the bee closer as the echidna suddenly pulled his own trick; trapping Charmy with one arm, the guardian flicked his antennae with his other hand, eliciting a shout of outrage from his sparring partner.

"Oww", Charmy ripped himself out the grip, clamping both hands on top of his head to blot out the sudden flare of pain, "you cheat".

"You can talk", Knuckles waved a finger, "you got one over on me, I did the same; we're even".

"Not for long"; Charmy saw the signal and knew what his role now was; _keep the target talking_;

"You wanna try that again buzz-boy", Knuckles dropped into his fighting stance, unaware that he was being set up as someone took offence to his manhandling of the younger bee, "you've got guts I'll give you that, but listen, you only get one over on me…"

He never finished that sentence as the Chaotix sprung a trap almost as old as the trio itself; their joint previous career as a detective agency had occasionally required they bring someone in for questioning and, as witnesses do their best talking when not in intensive care, the three had come up with a number of ruses that let them sandbag someone without doing much or even any damage. Charmy had seen Espio's high sign and, instantly seeing what the chameleon was up to, did his job of keeping the victim's attention focused on him. It was a simple trick, but one that still worked like a charm; Knuckles hadn't heard the ninja's stealthy approach and as such, when two hands slipped around his neck he was caught completely cold, unable to react fast enough to stop Espio trying out something that had interested him ever since it had been brought up.

Charmy watched on incredulous as the guardian's face was twisted involuntarily, his chin snapping down to his chest in an unconscious effort to try and trap the hand that was now at his neck, his expression a warped amalgamation of a giggle and a grimace as a few choked squeaks escaped his lips. Espio, now abandoning his camouflage and reverting to his natural colour as stealth was no longer an issue, swept his back foot out in a classic take down move, slowly lowering his foe to the floor without budging his hand, a sly grin on his face as he took in Knuckles' apparent paralysis.

"What the hey you doin' to him?" Looking over his shoulder, the chameleon saw Vector half-stand, looking at the prone echidna with a mixture of shock and respect for whatever technique Espio was using to pin down one of the most formidable Mobians on Angel Island. With a pang of regret, he had no choice but to tell the story straight; _after all, credit where credit's due_.

"It's the GPP; the Guardian Paralysis Point", he elaborated as Charmy and Vector swapped baffled looks; Espio lifted his hand minutely, allowing them both to see that, rather than a choke, two of his fingers were resting lightly in the dip where Knuckles' collar bones met, "Rouge showed it to me when we were comparing martial art styles and I moved on to pressure points. As you can see", he indicated his helpless victim with a vicious smile, "hitting it renders Knuckles completely unable to defend himself; according to her, you can hold him down all day with this little beauty".

"Bit like her and her ears", Charmy made a reasonable comparison, having seen what happened when the bat's ears were feathered lightly and drawing lines before wondering out loud, "how did she find out about it?"

"I never asked"; Vector settled back down, curiosity satisfied as he called out,

"Well, wherever that GPP came from, just let him go before he turns purple and dies".

"And what's wrong with being purple?" Espio demanded touchily, though as a low flat buzz filled the air he suddenly had a second reason to release his paralysed prisoner; in one move he snatched his hand away and leapt back to a safe distance, watching for any hints of revenge as Knuckles drew in a deep, explosive breath, massaging his throat as he glared at the chameleon venomously even if his words weren't aimed at her,

"I'm going to get her for spreading that around"; still muttering about what he could do to his wife in revenge for her telling the taciturn chameleon about one of his more delicate areas, he reached down for his vibrating phone in high dudgeon.

Later on, when this and all other related matters were nothing more than purely academic, Vector, and to a lesser extent Espio as well, would describe how the atmosphere to them tangible dropped in temperature in the few seconds Knuckles held the phone to his ear that day. It was as though someone had implanted a powerful heat-sink into him, leeching all the warmth from the air around him as his eyes widened, breathing became more ragged in the grip of a nameless fear. His sudden paroxysm of terror was so obvious that no-one there missed it; like a virus it spread to them, adding to the general unease as each Mobian suddenly tensed, anticipating something happening that would, sharers of the guardian's burden as they were, impact upon them all. Though their training had been long and arduous, both wedded guardians having drilled them over and over unmercifully, it was still a credit to the Chaotix that, when Knuckles snapped the phone shut and bellowed,

"EST HQ now", the order was obeyed instantly and without question, all four Mobians making best speed for the shrine of the Master Emerald and, more importantly, the teleporter pad it contained, even if they were each burning up with curiosity as to what had struck fear so deep into Knuckles it had unearthed tears that clung to the corners of his eyes.

XXX

"Hello"; a hand waving before her eyes jerked Mighty back to Earth, she shook her head as Rouge finished her speaking, "come in Mighty; is there anyone in there?"

"Er, um, yes", the armadillo looked down for a second, alight with slight embarrassment as she regarded her coffee again, staring hard into it as she attempted a virtually impossible feat; she tried to keep her thoughts hidden from Rouge, "lost in thought".

"Lost in something", the bat chuckled as her armadillo friend went slightly redder, the rosy cheeks actually blending in quite nicely with the dark shadow her overhanging shell cast over her face, "anyway, you were saying?"

"I was; sorry I…"

"No need", Rouge raised a hand, sipping her fruit juice again as she recognised what the armadillo was going through, "been there, done that".

"Done what?"

"Oh don't play with me Mich", the guardian leant forward and patted a hand that, had it been swung in anger, could virtually demolish the shop the two Mobians were currently sitting in, "I know that blank, faraway look when I see it". _Uh oh_; though she knew she'd never been able to keep secrets from anyone, Mighty had learnt enough about the suave, sophisticated bat in front of her to realise she was a true expert in the art of winkling information out of people; _and when she's working with me, that must be reading an open book_.

"I know what you're on about", that was the only chance she had; say something unexpected, throw Rouge off her stride, "and I don't want to say anything more about it; that's my business, okay?"

"Fine", the bat raised both a placating hand and her mug, drinking to hide the smile that was threatening to break over her face; she waited until Mighty was just about to relax before reassuming the offensive, "but you're not worming out of this". As the armadillo turned a bale look her way, she made a case for a compromise,

"Tell you what; I won't say a word, but in exchange I want you to tell me the name, just the name, and just for the record I've got my own ideas who it was entertaining you just then".

"Okay then"; _worth a risk, I can always mock her if she gets it wrong_; Mighty squared up to her drinking partner and beckoned the challenge, "let's hear your idea". Snared by the bait, Rouge sat back in her chair, leaning it back casually on its back legs as she folded her wings over the back of it and sucked her lower lip, scrutinising Mighty's face as she spoke,

"I reckon it was someone from the land below"; _bingo, eyes twitched_; "someone in Station Square"; _no_; the way the corners of Mighty's mouth had curled up fractionally told the former spy she'd got that line wrong; _but even so, that just narrows it down further_; "or, no, no, I'd say Mystic Ruins actually"; she knew from the shudder that ran through Mighty's body she was right – it was just a case of how much she wanted to rake the stubborn armadillo over the coals and, unfortunately for Mighty, she was feeling in a mischievous mood, "someone who's helped you out before now, given you a place for the night, introduced you to his pet frog and even taken a red-hot ki…".

"Okay, okay", cheeks now properly aflame, checking the rest of the coffee house to check Rouge's admissions hadn't been overheard, Mighty leant forwards with her teeth gritted, "right in all but one thing; Froggy's not a frog, he's a toad". She had to rub it in, just a little,

"Oh, so its Froggy now is it?" The bat laughed openly, though there was nothing malicious in it as Mighty shook her head, "boy, you've got it bad for him haven't you?"

The armadillo sighed; it was pointless trying to deny it, especially to Rouge; _he has been on my mind a lot recently, especially after…_; she cut her line of thought short – though she was still thankful that she couldn't see past events as flawlessly as Big could, the memories she had that had led up to the kiss Rouge had mentioned were still raw and painful enough. The cat had risked not only his life, but also his very mind as well to help her fight against the rejuvenated Metal Sonic; Mighty was certain that, had the cat not been able to make that sacrifice for her, Metal would have carried out his chilling promise of 'permanent disability' with gleeful relish.

"Well", she tried to force her suddenly tied tongue to move and form distinguishable words, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about him a lot".

"And the rest", Rouge chivvied her friend along a little with her own admission, "you two write to each other a fait bit, and if I remember rightly didn't you mention something about a trip later in the year?"

"Yeah", that hit the spot; Mighty brightened instantly, remembering the offer Big had made last time she had visited him one of her weekends off from Chaotix duties, "he said in the hospital he wanted to go see his family again; last time I was down he was all over the place with excitement; they'd replied to his letter. He's got a date set, and he invited me as well". Rouge raised her eyebrows in evident interest,

"Never knew he had a family?"

"Mum, dad and two twin sisters; he's the eldest though", Mighty parroted the information Big had revealed to her during on of their quiet nights, "he hasn't seen them for years, but it'll be their sixteen birthdays pretty soon; he wants to be there for that".

"I bet; can't be easy being separated for so long". Mighty shot the bat a very sharp look,

"You know why he stayed away from them right?"

"I had a guess when you said he was behind it", for a second, Rouge's eyes clouded over, her mind straying back to the wall of the bedroom she shared with her husband, seeing the picture that dominated it like a living slice of history captured forever on canvas and oils, the perfection evident in each brush-stroke; The End of the Hunt showing the greatest triumph of both Rouge and the echidna who had in that second become her husband's lives, "it takes a special kind of talent to do something that incredible", she looked over at Mighty directly, "you did well to bring us down; he was going to pieces after that".

"Least I could do", she refused to claim credit, thinking about what had gone on in that hospital as little as possible, with one exception; suddenly smiling, she chuckled, "can't believe that was his first kiss though". Rouge choked down an explosion of giggles and stared wide-eyed,

"You were Big's first kiss?"

"I was Sonic's too if that makes any difference", seeing Rouge's disbelief mingled with desperation to know more, the armadillo grinned and took a sip of coffee, "day the dance classes finished, I just said goodbye; I thought he was going to faint afterwards, looked like someone had thrown a bucket of tomato sauce all over him". That was enough; the bat collapsed onto the table, pounding it weakly as she tried desperately not to cause a scene by breaking down in hysterics in the middle of a coffee house,

"Thahahat's gold", she rubbed her hands together, tears in her eyes as she thought of the possibility that ammo held within it, "oh, I'm gonna make his life hell next time we get together".

"Just as long as you don't let Amy overhear you".

"Come on, I'm too beautiful to die young", the bat posed like a valley girl as Mighty laughed at her self-depreciation; she'd known Rouge long enough to recognise a fellow tomboy at heart, "but anyway, you look after the Big guy; he's too", she grasped for a word, "pleasant to be spoiled".

"Hey, I got no plans of letting him down", Mighty informed her friend, "if nothing else, and there's plenty more I'll have you know, he's the best cure for the gribbles I've ever come across". Rouge looked up interested, recognising the armadillo slang for general bits of detritus that got lodged under the shell and irritated; seeing the interest, Mighty hled up three fingers, mimicking the curve of claws,

"He's a cat isn't he? He can get under there without me even needing to raise my plates", she slowly traced her hooked fingers through the air, "his claws are just awesome for that sort of work; only takes a few minutes and I'll be good for at least a few days afterwards". _Must resist_; Rouge had to try at least, though Mighty had just opened herself to a golden shot; _must resist…nah, she'll get over it, she's got a sense of humour_;

"So, his fingernails on your back's a good combination", Mighty nodded absently as she raised her cup to her lips again; Rouge picked her moment perfectly before adding, "so what about yours on his?"

Mighty gagged, nearly choking on her coffee as she turned a boiling scarlet; Rouge smirked, leaning back to dodge the outraged swing the armadillo sent in her general direction,

"You're disgusting", Mighty said venomously, too embarrassed to see the funny side of the statement just yet, "you do know that don't you?"

"Knuckles reminds me at least three or four times a day; huh, oh", she reached down and took out her phone before the ring-tone sounded, alerted by the vibration she felt and quickly checking the numbers; Mighty saw her eyes widen in surprise, "talk of the devil", she pressed the receive button and held the phone to her ear, "hey Knuxie, what's…?"

From the way her friend's face fell, Mighty knew this was serious; she almost fancied she could see the layers of happiness and relaxation slough away from Rouge, revealing a whipcord readiness for action as her tone changed, her words clipped and few,

"Where?" She listened intently, Mighty matching her as she rose from the table, standing up and reaching to pay for the drinks they'd had shared as the bat suddenly nodded and snapped her phone shut; her eye met the armadillo's and she quickly snapped an order, no room for anything other than discipline and control in her voice now,

"EST HQ, we're meeting the others there; something's happened to Lara, Knuckles didn't say what". Mighty threw down a couple of bills, galvanised into action at the thought of the female echidna she'd been introduced to and grown friendly with being in danger.

"Let's go then; I know the way through the backstreets. Follow me". A second later, they were outside and Mighty was leading Rouge through the twisting streets of Echidnopolis, familiar with the route due to Vector's insistence that she memorised the A to Z of the city and never had she been more grateful for that demand.

XXX

Lien sat back from the communications, relief manifesting itself as a very audible exhalation; she turned to look up Kragok, who as always looked impassive, and smiled,

"Well, that went better than expected"; he latched onto her statement intently,

"You were expecting failure?"

"You know I didn't mean that", she huffed in exasperation, explaining before her brother's obtuseness, "I'm just a great believer in Murphy's law; it's a theory from underneath us that basically translates as 'whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" she elaborated as Kragok narrowed his still-functional eye at the name. Taking a second to digest the idea, he shrugged and turned away,

"Well, let us prove that theory incorrect; come Lien, let us proceed with stage two of the plan", he looked over his shoulder, smile full of false malice as he spoke in a soft, venomous voice, "we have an invitation to give out".

XXX

"Chief's office; you know the way?" The desk sergeant knew the two members of the Chaotix when he saw them and Remington had been very specific in his orders; they were to be sent straight up to him, no checks or any messing about. The bat nodded and raced up the stairs two at a time, her more heavily armoured companion pausing for a second to catch her breath before following her swift ascendance. In the space of seconds, the floor of the main building of the Echidnopolis Security Team was deserted once more.

Rouge paused just enough to knock once and hear the word,

"Enter", before throwing the door open and racing inside, pulling to a stop as she took in the scene before her. Mentally ticking off the half-standing form of Constable Remington, she set her sights on the seated Wynmacher, the tear tracks on the brown echidna's cheeks making him the obvious source of information.

"Wyn", she sank to his level, letting him raise only his head to meet her wild, needing eyes, "what happened, where's Lara?" Unwillingly, he sucked in a breath but before he could use it to answer, Remington stepped in just as Mighty swung the door closed,

"Wait guardian", due to secrecy, alone of the EST only Remington had been made aware of the fact that Rouge was actually wedded to Knuckles and therefore a guardian – everyone else just assumed she was another member of the Chaotix to prevent her becoming a more viable target for anyone who may have wanted to get to Knuckles; _how could we have forgotten to do the same for Lara-Le?_ Throwing off his self-recrimination for overlooking such an obvious detail, the head of the EST laid down the proceedings,

"We must wait for Knuckles; it concerns him most of all and I don't want to have to make Mr Wynmacher give his statement more than once". Seeing the state Lara's partner was in, the bat had no choice but to agree, taking the seat Mighty pulled out for her, waiting in silence for an tortured eternity, fingering her wedding ring through her glove and watching the agonising march of seconds around the clock, each tick of the second hand greeted with another furious plea for Knuckles to arrive, if only to end this tortured eternity of uncertainty. So ready was she, so anticipating the entrance of her husband, that when the door banged against the wall so hard the handle left an imprint, she virtually flew upwards in a start, trying to control her spiralling heart rate as Knuckles marched in, the rest of the Chaotix on his heels as, as Rouge had done, he singled out Wynmacher.

"What's going on? Where is my mother?" Wyn glanced up, taking in the form of the silent guardian, seeing the virtually palpable fury coming off him in waves and for a second he quailed; _no, I owe it to Lara to try and help sort out this mess_; slowly, looking Knuckles in the eye as he did so though it cost him every scrap of courage he had, the brown echidna swallowed and, finally, spoke,

"I'm sorry Knuckles"; _I let them steal her, right out of my hands_; "I should've done more, but I couldn't – they took her". Seeing the guardian's face set, Remington decided now was the best time to deliver the full picture,

"Guardian, based on Wynmacher's testimony we believe that Lara-Le is now being held hostage by the Dark Legion".

XXX

"Move".

"Sit down red"; Knuckles glared at the crocodile that bared his way as though his eyes could burn right through him; raising his arms, fury guiding his actions, the echidna raised his guard,

"Move, or I'll go thought you"; _he means it too_; the sight of Knuckles in this kind of temper was enough to rattle Vector, but he stood his ground – this situation was too delicate to do anything else, risk Knuckles upsetting the balance as he would if he acted rashly now. Stepping forwards, Vector lashed his tail and tried to make the most of his taller frame compared to the guardian,

"Sit down or I'll knock you down"; growling, Knuckles drew back a fist with the full intention of making good on his earlier promise. Suddenly he was stumbling back, something pulled on his cocked fist and, as something like a steel vice suddenly snapped shut across his chest, he had a fairly good idea as to who was restricting him. In his rage, he forgot Mighty's strength and fought to free himself, for the right to hunt for his stolen mother, to wreak havoc and hellfire on those who would harm her, ignoring the calming words whispered into his pounding ears,

"Easy Knucks", Mighty ignored the thrashings by simply hugging him in closer to herself, trusting Rouge was smart enough to understand why she was doing this and not make a big deal out of it, "rushing in won't help". With a final snarl and rattle of his organic chains, the echidna gave up his futile struggles, looking around with teeth bared as Vector sank down low enough to meet his eyes, trying to talk a bit of sense into the red mist,

"Listen Knuckles, we've done a couple of cases like this", he indicated Espio and Charmy before carrying on, "you can't rush a hostage situation; you'll just put Lara in more danger if you go in all guns blazing".

The mention of danger pierced the fog; with a visible effort, Knuckles lowered his fists and, after a few seconds to make sure it wasn't a play-act, Mighty dropped her constricting grip, though she remained primed to intervene if he tried anything. Remington, having stayed quiet through all this, gave the leader of the Chaotix an appraising glance and gave a clearer picture,

"Your friend's right Knuckles", the guardian looked around, now seeming far more worried than angry; _trying to accept this is happening to him_; Remington knew the signs and they were so far good – Knuckles was absorbing the situation quickly, making him better able to deal with it as he outlined what they knew for certain,

"Apparently, according to Wynmacher, he was picking your mother up from her workplace when a group of three echidnas, disguised as patients and possibly other hospital workers as well, attacked. One of them sprayed your mother with an aerosol sedative, knocking her out; this was the one Wynmacher tried to restrain only to be taken down by another of the kidnappers. However, he managed to confirm they were Dark Legion by the sight of a metal prosthetic in place of one of the kidnapper's arms. They took their victim away in a hi-jacked ambulance – the Echidnopolis infirmary has confirmed the theft to a few hours prior to this – though their destination is, as yet, known".

Rouge put her hand gently on her husband's shoulder, more grateful than she let on when he slowly covered it with his own much larger paw, eyes tightly shut and breathing deeply through clenched teeth. Everyone else drew back, letting him take the time he needed to come to terms with this, clear his mind and ask,

"So, what can we do?"

"At the moment, not a lot", Remington was forced to come clean about that, explaining as he outlined the most probable sequence of events that would follow, "there was a reason behind this kidnapping and we don't know what it is; we have to wait for the kidnappers to come forwards – we know it was the Legion, but we don't know the motive, though I personally can take an educated guess what they want in exchange for Lara's safe return".

"So that's it", the scorn in Knuckle's voice would have scoured a rock-face clean of lichen, "we just sit here and do nothing while they get away with this?"

"We don't have a choice", Charmy reminded him as Espio made to say much the same thing in more cutting language,

"Put it this way Knuckles", the reptile's cold eyes locked onto the echidna's face, "we can wait until we've got more of an idea what's going on and what they're trying to get out of this, or we can rush in with no idea and the next time we'll see Lara is in pieces through the post". Everyone shot the chameleon reproachful, and in some cases potentially lethal, glares even if they knew he was telling the truth. Knuckles, at least, seemed to think so; turning to face Remington again, the guardian grated,

"How do you think they'll tell us?"

"My guess would be a call or some other kind of notification…"

"Then we wait here", his voice alone brooked no opposition, "we can trace the call to me and find out where they're hiding her; from there", his eyes smouldered and his voice cracked a little, "we'll pay them a visit, and they'll be wishing for death before I've finished with them".

XXX

Kragok growled as he watched his sister slide the disk into its case, making his apprehensions plain as she handed it to the one who would transport it,

"There are no directions indicated there; how can you be sure they'll come?"

"Kragok", her laugh was a whip to his pride even if he knew she wasn't mocking him directly, "don't you remember what we were told about the guardians? They'll know where to go; it's in their blood to find stuff out. Besides, even if they couldn't, we've got some very tempting bait now", her thoughts strayed to the echidna she'd seen secured into the solitary holding cell this base had been engineered with and compassion forced her words, "has she recovered yet?"

"No", Kragok shook his head, "the sedatives haven't worn off yet; when they do, the councillor is standing by to explain the situation, by your orders". There was a hint of challenge in his voice that she couldn't pass by,

"Yes, on my orders", she looked at her brother squarely, "I am a Dark Legionnaire; it is not my place to cause needless suffering as such hardships shorten the lifespan and strengthen the hold death has over us". Kragok turned away after a second, a smile on his lips that she mistook for a sardonic admission of defeat; had she know its true meaning, she might have been able to alter the future before events could develop as they would do.

XXX

It was unexpected and sudden; one minute the group had been waiting in a sullen silence, the next they were all shielding their eyes and calling out frightened oaths as the room was drowned in a green flare, the light blinding all who looked at it directly. Only Knuckles, seemingly immune to the blinding effect of the glare as he was to most other things, such as hunger and thirst, was able to look up and see the two echidnas that had arrived. _Nice of you to show up, prove you still care_; if a part of him disapproved of the bitterness in his thoughts he didn't acknowledge it as his father stepped forwards, imperiously and determinedly sweeping up to Wynmacher as the brown echidna blinked his sight back,

"Where is Lara-Le?" the question did not allow a pause for an answer, the silence merely irritating the former guardian as he sought answers to the dreadful question he bore; ever since Spectre, meditating as always, had sensed the upheaval in his son's emotions and found the cause, he had been in action and now the one who held the answers refused to grant them, "where is my…"

Wyn saw the other echidna's face crumple as he caught himself; he'd only ever met Locke once or twice and never this close; the former guardian had been either just leaving or already gone in the past, but even from this limited contact Wyn had suspicions that Lara's ex-husband still fanned a flame for her; _and if that was anything to go by, he must do_. For a second, Wyn felt great pity for Locke as he tried to compose himself and get his emotions back under control, remembering again that Lara was no longer his. Fortunately, Charmy was able to answer,

"I'm sorry Locke, she's, ah, she's been taken; the Dark Legion have her". A vicious growl rose from the elder echidna's throat as he suddenly span and attempted his fourth-father at a distance with his finger,

"Sojourner, go back and tell the others to channel". The thin, reed-like form of Sojourner narrowed his eyes for a moment, trying to find out why Locke needed the power of the Brotherhood of Guardians,

"To what end?"

"I'm going to find out where that scum have taken her", Knuckle's head snapped up as his father finished, fists clenched and dangerous, "then I'm going to go there and level the place". Just for once, Knuckles' argumentative fifth-father saw the sense in agreeing and, activating the unique gift the Master Emerald had bestowed upon him as a guardian, was gone, teleporting back to the Brotherhood's ancestral home of Haven. Once he was gone, Knuckles asked the question, everyone respectfully silence as father and son measured each other up,

"Can you do it?"

"I'm not sure", above all his faults, Locke was honest, "but I'm going to try; when I say, no-one disturb me". Interested even now, Vector inquired,

"Can you guys do a channel at a distance?"

"It is harder, but yes", Locke suddenly stiffened, an invisible aura seeming to surround him like a blanket of static as he managed to speak, "its beginning".

The attention focussed on Locke as his face was skewered by concentration, seeking to control the combined energies of his forefathers and make them do the work he demanded of it. Slowly, heart labouring as though it would burst, he managed to assert control, dominate the power that would otherwise have exploded from him. Gradually attuning his senses, Locke felt his consciousness slowly expand, flowing out from his body as if casting a net; it wasn't quite sight and it wasn't quite touch, but a mixture of both senses combined. Like mould growing outwards from a central point, the previous guardian spread the net ever wider, seeking the one he needed with practiced ease; _I know you Lara_. Thinking of his former wife and still, even now, even when he knew all she could feel towards him was betrayal and hurt, his current love, Locke forced himself to go ever faster, find her in this background of grey; _we were lovers once, close as love would let us be – show yourself now, show us the way to you_. For a second it would not come and with tiredness draining the strength from him, Locke feared the worst; _…there!_; in the next instant was tiredness forgotten, a glow of brightness so pale any other guardian would have missed it, but not Locke. Not the guardian who loved Lara still more than he loved himself. Desperate, he homed in, knowing the energy was burning through him less controllably now; he had to break the contact soon or risk serious injury; a low, flat buzz percolated his ears as he strained for vital seconds, then the contract was broken, the power of the channel dissipated at his imperilled mental command.

XXX

With a cry of pain, Locke sagged from where he had been standing motionless; if Rouge hadn't supported him he'd have fallen to his knees. Seeing his father's ritual ended, Knuckles half-stood and, unheeding of the elder echidna's discomfort demanded,

"Do you know?" Locke met his son's eyes,

"Yes, I've seen…"

"Explain on the way", the response was quick and brutal, shutting Locke off completely; in fact it was Remington who brought the guardian back to earth with his development, having spoken quietly into the com on his desk for a few seconds,

"Wait, something's come", everyone looked at the head of the EST as he spoke again, cold fire in his icy blue eyes, "delivered anonymously a few minutes ago; I was buzzed because of it; it's addressed to you". Knuckles nodded and Remington understood; leaning down, he pressed a button and tersely ordered,

"Bring it" as Locke hastily made himself innocuous behind Vector and Mighty both. An anxious wait was quickly ended by a rap at the door and, at Remington's call, the desk sergeant passed a small, sealed package into Charmy's hands before departing. Flying up, the bee offered it to Knuckles,

"Here". Nodding his thanks, the guardian ripped the packaging open, revealing a little plastic disk.

"This'll play that"; recognising what it was, Remington pulled a small disk player out from his desk and set it up with practised ease, aligning it with the back wall as Espio pulled the curtains shut – Knuckles slotted the disk home and hit the small green button to play it. There were a few seconds of pitch blackness before, with a slight flicker of static, the guardian and his Chaotix beheld the face of their enemy.

XXX

"Damn, that's ugly"; coming from Vector, that was saying something but no-one, not even Espio, made to disagree. There was something extremely disturbing about the face that awaited them, its mechanical, unblinking eye searing the screen with a thin red beam like a bar scanner. The echidna smiled and began to speak,

"Greetings guardian", the voice was harsh and mocking; Knuckles felt his fists clench as he realised this technocrat was holding the cards and making the most of it, "we've never actually met, but I've recently had a rather interesting conversation with your mother, Lara-Le", he held up something in his hand; Knuckles was so focussed on the limp ribbon that he alone failed to notice the claw that fitted to the echidna's arm, recognising his mum's hair wrapping and seeing red because of it. _You_; he silently promised the gloating Legionnaire; _will die by my hand_.

"You must think we want the Master Emerald in exchange for her safe return; well think again", a ripple of unease spread around the room as everyone tried to answer the same question; _what else do we have that they want?_, "we want you, and those that serve you".

The immediate assumption was both frightening and maddeningly inevitable; it was a trap, but because Lara-Le was right in the middle of it they had no choice but to walk right into it. Nor were they the only ones to realise it,

"If you want her, you'll find out where we are; try to be quick", his smile widened into an unpleasant leer, "our noble purpose is to save you ignoramuses from death, but that's not to say in special cases we can't help the process with a few…implants". The screen cut to black as Knuckles slammed his fist into the wall for want of a better target, his spurs breaking the brickwork as though it were balsa wood. Slowly, dragging his hand back inch by inch, the guardian lowered his trembling arm to his side and took a deep breath; when his eyes opened again, they were clear, unclouded by blinding rage and his voice was soft,

"You know where we have to go?" Locke nodded,

"I do; Haven", he explained before the others could question him, "there's some things we need to pick up first; we can't do this without planning it".

"We plan on the way; we're going now".

"With me"; Wynmacher stood up and met the guardian's eyes, his face a picture of penitence as he spoke, "Lara was snatched out of my hands; I'm not going away until she's back there – blindfold me, do what you have to do to keep the secrets you've got safe, but I'm here and you'll have to kill me to stop me coming with you".

A/N: Noble sentiments, but can even this team hope to crack the Dark Legion's fortifications? And is Lara-Le still safe – what's Kragok hiding up his sleeve? Answers next chapter!


	3. Chapter 2 To Walk With Eyes Wide Shut

Chapter 3 – To Walk with Eyes Wide Shut

A/N: So, the rescue effort begins, after, of course, the reviewers get their shout:

HHH – Stress bunny? I thought that only happened when you had Cream trapped in a room with Omachao :-). Besides, for a better way to beat stress (and a few other things in the process) stick around for the next chapter.

DH – yep, dreads would be the choice, but would the Legion really implant them? Building a base behind Dimitri's back is one thing, but not even Kragok and Kommissar are stupid enough to mechanise someone without his permission. Aren't they?

GTP – Hey dude, good to hear from you again. Sorry I never got to read your idea for Iron Skin, but I couldn't find your profile :-(. Anyway, don't feel bad about not guessing that one; after all, plenty more opportunities to outthink me in the future!

Ri2 – Well I can think of a few things scarier…

In a second the decision had been made; Knuckles saw the older echidna's intent and, more importantly, the naked, unquenchable need of his eyes; in his mind, Wyn had committed a grievous sin in letting Lara be snatched and quested for repentance. Slapping Wyn on the shoulder, the guardian nodded,

"Right, we need transport".

"Got it; our van should take all seven" Vector confirmed, stepping back from the door as Knuckles raced through it,

"It's at your place?"

"You know the way" Mighty answered, beginning to match the echidnas strides as he began to pick up speed; now he had a target, something to go at, he had to get there with all possible speed, to hell with anything else.

XXX

"Hey Vec", Rouge called as the crocodile remotely unlocked the door of the van the Chaotix used to get around the city when they were feeling too lazy to walk, "you sure it'll fit us all?"

"Yeah, all seven"; the bat took a head count,

"You mean eight?"

"No, I mean seven", the crocodile whistled and beckoned; Charmy flew out from the press and landed just in front of him,

"Yeah, what's…?"

"Charmy, I want you at the shrine", Vector quickly carried on before the bee could muster a protest, "no, listen, I'm tryin' to cover every angle; I admit it ain't likely, but this could just be a diversion for a snatch on the rock; we need someone there just in case. If anythin' happens, buzz the guardians and get them there, okay?" _Please don't go stubborn here Charm_; the crocodile prayed that the bee would understand why he was doing this and not rail against the treatment, and thankfully, his prayers were answered,

"Okay"; _I understand why you're doing this_; a very strained smile broke over the bee's face as he made an effort to hide his disappointment; _but I still don't like it_; "need the keys to get in". Hiding his relief about as well as Charmy was hiding his sourness, the crocodile handed over his keys and a second later there was the slam of the front door as the youngest member of the team left on his appointed duty. Vector waited until he was in the driving seat before letting his shoulders slump in relief.

"That was, well done"; looking to his left, Vector chuckled and aped incredulity,

"Do my ears deceive me", the passenger couldn't hold back all his emotions; a small smile broke over Espio's face as he carried on, "or did the king of sarcastic put-downs just descend from his throne to pay me a compliment?"

"I know why you wanted Charmy out the way", Espio carried on, looking the crocodile squarely in the face; "Sonic explained something similar, with him and Tails".

"Yeah", Vector's hand twitched on the ignition key but for the minute he neglected to start the van, "he's a Chaotix, but he's still a kid at heart, at least for a bit anyway. Don't wanna let him deal with a fight like this too often". The chameleon nodded, the gesture visible even if his body was blending into the window view and door behind him,

"One day, he'll thank you for it".

"Hey Vec, let's roll"; Knuckles' demand jerked them back to the present and in a trice Vector had gunned the engine, taking all eight Mobians towards the base of Haven, listening to the directions Locke was providing at the same time as checking Wyn was rendered both blind and deaf to the roads they were taking.

XXX

"Greetings guests", out of necessity Spectre cut short the usual introductions as Knuckles simply shouldered past him, though in light of the circumstances the black guardian couldn't find a fault with that; _he is worried for the sake of his mother – as his father is worried about his partner_. Spectre bit back a sigh as he saw Locke leading his son through the twisting corridors of the base, muttering to him in a low voice; _sometimes I'm not sure if unrequited love is a blessing or a curse – Locke will only hurt himself more unless he learns to let go_. Thrusting these thoughts aside of the moment, Spectre turned to the rest of the assembled Mobians; Wyn was absent, having been left in the car still blindfolded with a whispered promise they'd be back soon,

"Remington informed us of the developments; the Legion is behind this for sure?"

"Definite; they're the only guys I know who'd take a face only a mother could love and make it worse", Vector chuckled with gallows humour as Spectre's face became grim,

"Weeks with no word and now this; as far as politics were concerned it seemed the new lord of the Dark Legion preferred to accrue temporal gain legitimately rather than by kidnap", the eldest guardian suddenly looked up, "they've demanded my seventh-son as an exchange, is this true?" Rouge smiled tightly,

"They did, but they forgot that the guardian doesn't work alone any more", she inspected her glove nails, tapping her fingers in a slow, threatening pattern, "we know where they are thanks to Locke, so now we're going to kick their butts at their own game".

"Be careful everyone", all eyes, albeit reluctantly, rolled upwards to see Athair looking down at them, normally smiling face grim and fearful, "the Legion's full of tricks and traps; you have to be on your toes".

"We will be" Espio assured the hyper one before turning to look at Spectre again, "any idea what we could be up against?"

"Not specifically, but I'm certain there will be a base of some kind; the Legion doesn't go about its business, especially as underhand as this, in the open; you'll be looking at a base if not more".

"What about you lot?" Mighty suddenly piped up, pointing at Spectre as she considered an important aspect of back up, "what will you be up to in all this?"

"We're keeping an eye on the city in case the Legion makes any aggressive moves; we'll also be on hand in case the shrine needs any extra protection – it wouldn't be the first time in recorded history the Legion has attempted such a feint"; _never misses a trick that one_; Vector thought quietly before Mighty looked behind Spectre and gave a startled yelp of shock.

"What the hell have you been playing with Locke?"

_I knew he was an inventor_; Rouge reminded herself of her father-in-law's predilection to tamper with inventions and ideas, but as the equipment he and Knuckles were carrying was dropped to the floor, she felt even her eyes widen; _but this is something else_.

"What is all this?"

"A couple of explosives", the elder echidna mentioned absently, turning some things over with his toe and watching as they rolled to the floor with a clunk, "and a few other odds and ends; oh, those are important", he bent down to pick up a wrist unit that looked almost identical to the ones the Chaotix all wore, "these are more powerful and you can talk through them; most important of all, they can't be tracked by the Legion – as long as you're quiet, we can talk within the base and communicate".

"Nice idea", was Espio's dry comment, "what else you got in that bag of tricks?"

"Nothing really, most of it will be staying in the van with Wyn; he's still a civilian in all this, so I don't want him in the way", Locke explained hurriedly, pointing at the largest part of his kit, a bulky vox unit with a single, clearly marked dial, "this is the main rely point for these communications devices; while we split up, Wyn will guide us all".

"Wait, split up; aren't we all tryin' to save Lara?" Vector asked confusedly; Locke glared,

"Yes, but some of us have different parts to play", he pointed at the lot of them, "you will be doing the rescuing, I'll be making sure we can make a quick getaway; the base must have a power source of some kind; that's what these are bound for". He pointed at the bombs he'd constructed again, fingering a remote detonator as he smiled, imagining the desolation he could deliver to those who had dared attempt to harm Lara-Le before Espio broke in,

"Shouldn't I be doing that? I am more likely to get to the power supply unnoticed".

"I can go unseen when I have to" Locke spoke cryptically before Knuckles, already short temper dramatically reduced in the circumstances, reached the end of his tether,

"Look, we can sort out the who's and where's later; right now we need to get there and get there now". With no further ado, the party moved on, picking up the pieces of Locke's assembled developments and heading to the elevator once more, leaving in their wake a stoic Spectre to comfort and teary, fearing Athair.

Moments later, the plans were being furiously discussed, dissected and diamorphed into new, more workable forms though, despite all the talking, there was no denying that they were walking with their eyes wide open into a trap they still couldn't completely fathom. It would take something else, a piece of magic from a distant friend, to clear their sight just a little.

XXX

_Damn and blast it_; restless knowing his friends wearer in danger and there was nothing he could do about it, Charmy paced relentlessly throughout the shrine, not able to sit still for thoughts there had to be something, anything he could do to help. _I know you wanted me out the way Vector – why the hell did I agree?_; now he had time to think of it Charmy fancied quite strongly he'd prefer to be deep in the firing line than out here on the periphery, merely waiting for the result and unable to alter it. And despite his normally cheerful nature, all the outcomes he could conceive weren't very rosy. The bee kneaded his head with his hands, knuckles grinding against skull to try and force out an idea; _they're going in there against who knows what, who knows who…wait_; suddenly the hands fell away; inspiration hauled him by the scruff of his neck forwards into a wonderful idea; _wait just a minute – I know who might know who!_

XXX

In the middle of the frantic conversation Mighty covered her ear with one hand and she reached for her phone with the other, pressing the receive button and waving the rest of the voices down,

"Shut up, shut up; sorry, go on – Charmy?"

"Hi Mighty; listen, hand me to Knucks, I don't have his number; this is important".

"Okay", she tapped the guardian on the arm, shutting off his words as she offered the phone, shrugging at his questioning gaze. Eyeing it suspiciously, Knuckles nevertheless took the appliance and spoke,

"Hello? Charmy, what is it?"

"Got some news", the bee sounded beside himself with excitement as he gabbled on, "I think I know who's behind this, and it's not that Energy guy, you know, the head of the Legion".

"Then who is it, and how do you know?"

"I gave Amy a call, just on the off chance; don't worry, I never gave away specifics, just said something like a high-ranking official of the Legion had been spotted, did she recognise him at all. It was the guy from the video; she knew who he was from the description I gave her; they're the ones running this show".

"They?" Something didn't tally there and despite his burning curiosity, Knuckles had to correct the error, "but we only saw him?"

"We did, but Amy didn't", Charmy filled out the last pieces of the puzzle, "she met them when Dimitri had her captive; apparently he released them from suspended animation, the first two Legionnaires to be freed. They're his great-grandchildren";_ oh great, more insane relatives_; despite the seriousness of the news that thought made the guardian smile, "they're a pair of twins, one boy one girl; the one we saw was Kragok, the girl's apparently a knock-out and she's officially titled Kommissar, but Amy said that's not her real name; she can't remember it and she's sorry about that".

"Never mind; good work Charmy"; _so the guy I'm going to pulp to jelly's got a name then_; though the bee's research hadn't done too much overall, it had given Knuckles something else to focus on – the face that had taunted him now had a name he could relate to, "just sit tight; we'll let you know if anything's happening".

"Likewise; got your ancestors on speed-dial if anyone shows up. Listen, tell the others as well; good luck!"

"Thanks buzz-boy", Knuckles waited until the receiver sounded the dead tone in his ear before passing it back to Mighty, silencing the commotion and furious debates and letting everyone know what Charmy had managed to dig up; this he did with confidence and style even if a little voice nagged at the back of his mind that, before this was over, they'd be needing all the luck they could get.

XXX

"Contact", the legionnaire span in his seat to address the two leaders of this operation, his emotions hidden behind his mask even if his voice betrayed excitement, "a single hover vehicle passed through the long range sensors a few minutes ago, estimation of five life-forms aboard, possibly more". Kragok stood to his full height and turned to face Lien, smiling as he awaited the forthcoming action,

"So they've taken the bait", his chuckled was dark as he reached down and hit a button on the console just to the side of him, triggering a low, keening klaxon to sound throughout the base, "leave this to me Kommissar; I will brief the legionnaires personally in our gambit, outlining the trap and how it will be sprung".

"I'll watch", she smirked back, taking silent pleasure in seeing her brother's organic eye narrow in consternation; _he knows if he screws up I'll never let him live it down_; "then I'll make sure all the systems are operating correctly; we can't afford for this to fail because of faulty wiring".

"See that it doesn't" was his only answer as he turned his back on her and moved off to inform the assembling throng how they would anticipate the coming to the guardian.

_Blah, blah, blah, drone – jeez, do you like listening to your own voice or what?_; though he could aggravate her like nothing else on earth, Lien did love her brother but this was testing the depth of her sisterly affections for him. He'd been talking non-stop for nearly ten minutes, at times even picking out individual legionnaires to highlight how they should react, or in some cases not react, to the presence of intruders within the base. To keep herself occupied she was trying to find the specific legionnaire that, for the moment, held the honour of being the target of her other affections, though in the press she missed his characteristic different glove. _Oh well_; she shrugged as her sky blue eyes swept the unwashed masses again, still not seeing where her future lover stood; _honey's always sweetest when stolen – next time I sneak up on him I won't bother with introductions – must be the way he likes it. Come to think of it, if he's that shy around women, it's probably the only way he gets any!_

XXX

At a command from Locke the van slewed to a halt, the elder guardian unclipping his belt as Rouge asked,

"What are we doing?"

"We go in on foot from here" he said tersely, explaining as the others all unbuckled themselves, "they're probably already aware we're here; they said they'd be expecting us. If we go in on foot in a loose bunch they'll have a harder time tracing us". _Can't argue with that_; by unspoken agreement, everyone else left the transport and picked up the tools they'd been assigned with. Once Espio had tightened the straps around his back, Wyn shambled around with the heavy master vox unit still on his back and demanded,

"Right, where are they?" Locke met his eyes and, for the briefest second silence fell; both male echidnas engaged the other in a silent battle of wills before, remembering the seriousness of the situation and who it involved, both thrust aside their mutual distrust and the guardian answered, pointing at where the ground started to be come more uneven,

"That way, not sure how far".

"Soon fix that", Mighty affirmed with a casual shrug, "leave it to the ladies; ready Rouge?" The bat smiled and, as soon as the armadillo's hands dropped, took off at a sprint, putting into practise a move they'd rehearsed at least a couple of hundred times. Wyn gave an appraising whistle as the bat quickly became a speck in the atmosphere, slowly descending from the height Mighty had tossed her to,

"Neat work"; she grinned,

"Thanks, nowhere near my best though".

"Nah", Vector agreed, shrugging as he waited for news like the rest of them, "bet her ears don't even pop".

"Just as well with ears that size", Espio commented dryly, shielding his eyes from the setting sun as he watched the bat's descending spirals become more noticeable, the heart shaped breastplate just about viewable as she suddenly dropped into a slight dive, bleeding off the last of her altitude. Knuckles was by her side as she landed; she looked at him and nodded, a tight smile twisting her lips,

"Yes, it's that way; if we time it right, we should get there by nightfall".

"Then let me go ahead", Espio spoke from his concealed position, the scenery blurring as he stepped forwards, "there'll be guards; I can get into position to deal with them".

"Go frilly"; Vector gave his compadre a resolved nod, straining his sight to see the chameleon leave the gathering. When Espio was gone, the crocodile sat down,

"Up", Knuckles demanded, eager to be off, "we've got to…"

"Let Espio scout the place" his father corrected him, sitting down as well though with markedly more reluctance than Vector had, "we'll gain nothing by being rash; nothing would give me more satisfaction than rushing that place and ramming an emerald blast down that, Kragok's throat, but by doing so I'd jeopardise Lara's safety".

"Last thing we want"; for once Wyn and Locke stood united on this issue, the chef accepting Mighty's help in easing off his backpack, "I say we leave in, what, an hour? That way it'll be evening when we get there – less light for them to see us with".

"And more shadows for the wall-creeper to hide in" Rouge chipped in; _he's useful, but that doesn't mean I have to like him_.

XXX

"The targets are not moving lord", the legionnaire glanced up at where Kragok sat enthroned behind him, a picture of quiescent violence just waiting to be unleashed, much like a malevolent volcano too long denied the chance of an explosive eruption.

"Why", he growled in a tone that made the other Legionnaires monitoring their work stations shiver in terrified anticipation, "are they not attacking? They should be battering down the door to rescue her now; why do they hold off? Do they not care at all?" _The guardians should not be so heartless as to abandon those they love – if they are, they are indeed foes to be feared_; his troubled brooding was broken by his sister's voice,

"Because they're doing what you'd do", Lien pointed to the digital time display that was counting on the wall, "they want to wait until darkness, then they'll move; it'll be harder for us to track them then – we didn't have time to install any but the crudest tracking devices. We can't even say how many there are in that group".

"It doesn't matter; we outnumber them by at least a factor of seven; even if he's dredged up every guardian from the annals of history", his claw ripped into the rest of the chair, the sound of sheared steel sounding ominous as his biological eye glittered like an angel's sins, "they will not escape our trap".

"My lord, my lady", the joint second in command of the Dark Legion span, Kragok tasting the excitement in the voice and deducing that finally, the pieces were beginning to move into place, just like he wanted them to, "the group is on the move, they are heading this way at a speed of…" He'd stopped listening, looking around and matching his sister's cruel smile,

"So it begins", his mechanical eye bathed Lien's face in a ruddy red glow, "assemble the platoons Lien, I shall join you presently".

"Not a problem, but", the tip of her tongue traced her lip quickly, then whipped back in the blink of an eye, "save the ones that accompany the guardian for me; they are from the world below, they interest me". She saw his eyebrow rise and his lips twitch; _not like that you dirty-minded…_; before he nodded,

"As you command; our weapons are only meant to knock out as it is, by order of Lord Enerjak".

"Good", this Lien did agree with; the sight of blood was not the most pleasant she had to deal with and any decree that meant she had to deal with less of it was a good thing in her book, "so the beginning is begun".

"And the endgame will end" Kragok finished one of their childhood sayings with a smile, nodding as his sister departed, her metallic spines glinting in the artificial light and hips swaying in a manner that caught more than one admiring glance. He watched her leave before sitting back down, content as his guardian nemesis approached; _yes, this is the one chance_; his smile, his true smile edged onto his face, concealed as it was by his slumped head; _the chance to rid the Legion of the two greatest threats to its future prosperity_.

XXX

Wyn sank to his knees, drawing his feet in to better balance his unwieldy pack as the others gathered around him; something blocked out the feeble light for a second and something large and heavy was pressed into his hands,

"Take it"; Locke's voice.

"What?" Wyn looked down at the gift he'd been given and, slowly, a strange shape took form before his squinting eyes; it was long and blocky, with a bit of a kink in it and a…the realisation nearly made his drop it as he hissed,

"Are you mad?" He pointed at he gun with his free hand, "I've never used a gun; what do you want me to do with it?"

"Anything comes after you, just point and pull the trigger" Locke sneered cuttingly, rejoicing in his egotistical triumph for a moment before pulling himself back to the present. Drawing himself up to full height, ingrained responses kicked in and, as eldest by a distance, he found himself taking charge,

"Right, you all know what we're doing?"

"Yeah, clear as", Vector spoke for all of them, reciting his team mate's information from memory, "Esp said the base looked hurried, the main door was big but he could see an opening; he also got a code by sneaking up on one of the guards so he's getting us in after taking them out". Locke nodded and turned to his son, who took up the story,

"So he breaks us in, from there we split up", the current guardian locked eyes with his predecessor, "you go for the generators, or whatever power they're using, and plant your pineapples", Locke felt the comforting weight of the explosives under his coat and smiled, seeing the devastation anew in his head as Knuckles carried on, "the rest of us, we take down a Legionnaire and make sure we know where mum is. We get her and then we all get the hell out, you press the button and we all go home".

"We go swift, and we go silent"; Rouge put her hand down in front of her, watching as everyone stacked their hands atop hers; there was a second of silence before Wyn piped up,

"Good luck everyone", he gave a worried smile in the face of the fatalistic resolve that was sent his way; to spare his blushes, he fiddled with the receiver in his hand, giving each of them the nod as they all turned their backs on him and moved off, crawling out into the dusky gloom until they were lost from sight.

_Well_; the chef sat back, for the first time aware, really aware, of what he'd volunteered for; _better get used to this if I'm dating a guardian's mother_. For once, there was no wit that would warm him, no chivvying banter would bring him cheer; the isolation was deep and profound; in seconds, he was breathing heavily, the nerves within him jangling as the wait began to creep up on his mind, filling the darkness with phantom foes, each scarier and more dangerous than the last. His suddenly clammy hands gripped the gun handle ever tighter, his finger strangely twitchy on the trigger as he gritted his teeth, trying to fight it off; _ can't give it away – one shot and they'll know where we all are_. He tried to focus on Lara, that by shooting he'd just put her in danger and slowly, gradually, the tension was siphoned from his body; his breathing evened out and he reluctantly laid the gun on the floor, resolving not to use it unless the circumstances demanded it to be so.

"Now", the receiver on his wrist buzzed, the fear nearly making him leap up and cry out in shock, though he smothered the reflex in time; he fumbled behind him, reaching for the transmitter unit on his backpack, turning the dial to transmit as Locke had shown him before raising the mouthpiece to his suddenly numb lips and whispering to all the lesser pieces the command for it all to begin,

"Now".

XXX

Knuckles heard the word and, after counting to three, took off, pushing his feet into the floor to increase his speed and keep going; his eyes strained to make out anything in the gloom, but so deep was the darkness that he only realised he was at the front of the base when he virtually ran into its front gate. Slapping his hands into the cold steel, the guardian hugged himself against the wall, looking back the way he'd come; as far as he could tell, he was the first one there.

"Hey", he spoke into his wrist, "anyone there?"

"Yes"; Knuckles span as he heard the answer from a little way behind him, spoken rather than translocated through the communicator, "don't worry, they're both down". Something flopped over on the ground; squinting, the guardian was shocked to see a motionless figure dressed in black and red – Espio had done his work well,

"Espio, I can't see you; go native".

"Very well"; the chameleon reappeared about five feet away, his purple colour marking him out at the same time the others were arriving properly. In the space of half a minute from the call to go, all six Mobians were at the gate and Espio was reaching down to retrieve his thrown weapon.

"How'd you K.O. them so quickly?"

"Sedative stars", Espio tucked the special tools of the ninja away, turning to find the panel again to let them inside properly, "they're coated with a sleep solution; you feel one prick and that's it, down you go. Right, get ready". The team huddled near to where the glowing panel demanded an access code, each nodded their readiness and, taking the lead from such gestures, Espio keyed in the number he'd seen one of the Legionnaires use at the changing of the guard. Slowly, silently, a portal of dim light began to creep open as the entrance was slowly unblocked, the heavy barred door retracting on its runnels as Locke raised a hand. There was the faintest flicker of green around his glove and he affirmed,

"It's clear; no-one on the other side".

"Good", Knuckles glanced around the door, not keeping his head still in case his father had made an error; _no, looks clear, but it's not very bright in there, and they wear black_; "Rouge, I need you up front scanning the way, Mighty, stay with her in case you run into anything nastier than she is. Vec and I take rear guard, Esp, stick to the walls and, how many of those sleep things you got?"

"Not many left".

"Well, try and use them for quick put-downs; remember we go quick and quiet – if they don't know we're there the less chance there is of them using mum against us".

"Okay, let's do this"; at Mighty's acceptance of the plan, the Chaotix and guardians ghosted into the base of the Dark Legion, with but the barest of fractional pauses,

"Vec?"

"Ah, nuthin'"; _no, it ain't nothing_; the crocodile wasn't sure what it was, but something about this whole set up was making him feel distinctly uneasy; _can't say what though, just gotta hit and hope like hell on this_.

XXX

He heard it coming a mile off, but then again, hearing something's about as much use as a chocolate fire guard if you don't do something about it. It was only when the squeaking stopped that his attention was caught and by then it was too late; the guard never even felt the blow that laid him out – all he managed to see was a blunt wooden handle.

Even before his opponent fell, his conqueror set about searching for the card needed for access; he had enough information about the Legion's most recent developments, his keen ears and discrete recording equipment had seen to that. In the light of the plans revealed by Kragok, the infiltrator knew now his number one priority was to aid the guardian any way he could.

XXX

Hunched in her cell, Lara felt guilt and angst thrive in the pit of her stomach; the dreadful knowledge that she was the bait in a trap for her son was terrible to bear, but not as bad as knowing he'd come for her, she knew he'd come for her. _Please Knuckles_; she curled her hands into fists and drilled them into the side of her skull; _just stay put, forget about me – the Legion will do me no harm, they said as much_. That was certainly true – no-one had been more surprised than herself when the cell door had been opened and, rather than a stern, impassive or even gloating gaoler, there had instead been a smart, professional female echidna who had, after asking for and accepting an invitation to come in, sat down and talked with her.

Due to the nature of her work, Lara had come into contact with councillors, but never had she actually been worked on by one and, she had to admit, the experience had steadied her somewhat. The legionnaire had gone to great pains to explain that she was in no danger – the legion had never harmed or modified anyone who crossed their beliefs; it just wasn't their way. Her capture was absolutely nothing personal, it was merely a means to an end – even in the worst case she could think of, that her son and all his friends be captured, they'd suffer no fate worse than imprisonment; in his wisdom did Enerjak spare his foes from merciless oblivion. It had been comfort, but cold comfort indeed; _Knuckles would go mad in prison, and I know it'd be my fault he…what!_

The door to her cell suddenly swung in violently; Lara instinctively flattened herself against the wall, drawing her legs up as the bare metal pressed into the skin of her back, a scream of shock just about cut off as a figure was hurled into the room, crashing down on the floor directly in front of her with a muffled thump. Heart racing, breathing quick and ragged, the echidna lady forced herself to look, and then to wonder, fear replaced with amazement, at the sight before her. _A Legionnaire?_; shaking her head, she looked up, straight into the red face of another of her captors, mouth open in shock as she realised he was the one who must have done this; _that makes no sense, why would he attack another Legionnaire – maybe he was a traitor, and he's sharing my cell as well…_; with a mental effort she forced herself to block her line of thought for now as the figure at the door was pointing forcibly, putting his finger to his lips in a gesture for silence. For want of other feasible options, Lara nodded, and watched again, a small flame of hope beginning to burn within her as she saw her rescuer point first at the downed Legionnaire, then at herself. A lover of espionage films, the cheesier the better as Wyn loved to point out, she caught on instantly; pushing herself to her feet, she paused only look up again, mouthing three words her curiosity demanded she speak,

"Who are you?" The response was a low and quiet whisper,

"EST".

_Of course_; the flame exploded into a supernova; _the EST would be trying to infiltrate the Legion, they're mutual opponents – it all makes sense_. Thanking her lucky stars that she was able to take advantage of this situation, Lara quickly began to pull the insensate Legionnaire over onto his front, her saviour turning around to both keep watch and grant her some privacy as she set about doing the deed that needed to be done.

Mere minutes later, the cell door slid shut and two Dark Legionnaires began to move casually along a path the one with a white glove marked out; this way would be longer, but ran the least risk of being seen before the hue and cry went up.

XXX

With a thump, the guardsman went into the wall, the impact knocking him senseless as Vector smiled toothily; _still got the old knack at interrogation_;

"Well, we know the way now; let's go".

"Right; Mighty", Rouge pointed upwards; craning her neck, the armadillo saw her friend's finger outlining some coiling shapes above and she grinned,

"I get it; need a lift".

"No", a third voice stopped the plan in its infancy, the dry rustle of scales on brickwork a tell-tale sign of who was thinking along the same lines, "I'm used to working in confined spaces; it is what I'm trained for – I'll call back any obstacles en route".

"Go Esp" Knuckles commanded; there were a few seconds pause before there was a slight grating sound, followed by a slightly louder clang.

"I'm in the vent", Espio's disembodied voice informed them all through their communication devices, "going on now; sit tight".

"Right"; silently, Vector took point one end of the short corridor the four Mobians were now confined to, Mighty taking the other as Rouge raised her wrist to her lips and whispered a few words; after waiting for a reply, she tapped Knuckles on the shoulder,

"Got the news to Locke; he's closing in as well; second he gets to the chamber and plants his bombs, he'll meet up with us".

"Good"; Knuckles listened to his wife with half an ear, the other one straining to hear any words from Espio, but no, there was nothing, not for a little while until finally,

"Okay, I'm there; all I can see is a door in this corridor, towards the end; the route looks clear, just a two-man patrol you can duck past if you're quick".

"That's it?"

"Far as I can see, unless you count a mop bucket as a potential death trap – lethal without a wet floor sign you know"; _knew it wasn't nothing_.

Now it all made sense; belatedly, and still without a clue as to the exact mechanics, Vector understood the Legion's modus operandi. His muffled sigh and shake of the head didn't go unnoticed,

"What's up Vec?" Rouge knew enough about the crocodile to respect him; past the deadbeat exterior, he was as shrewd as they came and that she had to respect. He turned to face them, lips set in a grim, reluctant smile, raising his wrist so Espio wasn't left out either,

"I knew there was something wrong with this whole thing; think about it", he began ticking off on his fingers, "two guards on the door, access panels, no automated weapon systems, that guy just 'happening' to know where the prisoner was being kept; come on, this is the Dark Legion we're talkin' about - it's all too easy. That's what they're doing; we got this far because they let us get this far – they want us to find Lara and then they'll snap whatever it is they're plannin'".

Simultaneously, there was a lowering of heads; now that one of them had solved the puzzle, it seemed so obvious, the overriding thought was that they'd been fools to fall for it in the first place. A precious second was wasted before Knuckles hook himself, remembering his purpose for being here in the first place,

"Well, they can try what they like", he raised himself to his full height, voice certain and imposing once more, "I'm here to find my mother, and if they want to let me do that so much the better; it's not going to stop me leathering them for having the nerve to even try and hold her against her will".

"Yeah, we've come so far, might as well go the whole hog" Mighty shrugged, apparently unconcerned as Rouge shook her head,

"Don't talk to me about hogs, not after the last time I went to Station Square".

"Well Amy did say she'd been meaning to fix that shelf for a while".

"And the ink came out eventually", Vector added, smiling a little as the bat glared daggers at him; _yeah, after I had my head submerged for so long I nearly grew gills_; "thank the Lord it didn't hit Amy's forms; she'd spent ages on 'em apparently".

"Yes, but that still didn't make me feeling any better going around looking like Sonic's taller, prettier sister all day". Knuckles shuddered,

"A female Sonic; no, that's the stuff nightmares are made from".

"Be that as it may", a more peevish voice broke in disconnectedly, "there's still the matter of you lot getting your acts together and actually getting here to free Lara?" Jarred by the reminder, all four Mobians again set off, their silence and speed almost breathtaking as they moved to their goal.

XXX

Kragok, seeing the position of the interlopers to his fortress, began to stand, speaking as he did so,

"Lien, prepare the shutters, I'm going to the central hall to, shall we say, roll out the red carpet, for out guests?" His twin smiled,

"Go ahead, I'll be with you when it's ready; not long now Kragok?"

"No Kommissar", he turned, shielding his eye from her view as he muttered under his breath, "not long at all".

XXX

"I can't short it; if I tried I might lock it irreversibly", Espio explained as he saw his friends draw in. Rouge stepped forwards, examining the task critically before Knuckles spoke,

"Can you do it?"

"I think so; it's been a while but, I have to try". With that, she squatted down, peering at the blank panel as if engaging it in a battle of wills, Knuckles looking on with his heart in his mouth as the bat's fingers began to touch the locking pad; apparently, it needed to be fed some sort of card before it would allow access. All eyes willed the bat to win, but there was no such luck as she sat back, shaking her head, defeated,

"No, sorry; if I had the right pieces of kit and more time I could give it a shot, but not a chance now".

"Okay", Mighty cracked her fingers, "forget subtlety; we go with option two", she cocked her fist, the others there backing up as she hollered, "Lara, stand back" and pistoned her fist forwards like a rocket shot. The door slammed back, swinging like a blind drunk leaning precariously on a lamp post as it remained affixed to the frame by dint of a single, buckled hinge. As they'd all expected and silently agreed, even before the echoed of the hit had died away, reactions were felt to the breech of the peace.

XXX

_Gotcha_; the icon for the prison door blazed red; it had been tampered with, the signal she'd been waiting for. With one fluid movement, Kommissar slammed her hand onto the red button, virtually feeling the sensation of electric signals flowing away from the pressure point to orchestrate the trap her brother had dreamed up. As the map of the base became interspersed with sudden solid, grey bars that dropped across previously open hatchways and corridors, she smiled; _like rats in a run_; she holstered her pistol, smoothed out her hair and made to follow in Kragok's footsteps; _only this time, with a cat at the end of it_.

XXX

There was a dull bang as the shutter descended, sealing off part of the corridor they were stood in, leaving only a single route for them to take. Vector nodded and was just about to make the point he'd summed up in his mind when a startled oath from the cell Knuckles, heedless of anything other than his mother's liberation had race into, broke the silence. Piling in after him, concerned by the guardian's sudden exclamation, fearful of being denied their prize at this eleventh hour, the other Mobians looked around past where Knuckles stood rooted to the spot in paralysed shock.

The question of what Dark Legionnaire wore under their robes had long been a question that had puzzled and teased those who opposed the technocratic factions; now, as they all beheld the limp, unconscious figure on the cot bed in front of them, they might have been forgiven for wishing that the question had remained unanswered. No man, or echidna for that matter, has ever looked good in skin-tight black Y-fronts.

"The hell…?" Vector was speechless just as Knuckles was, though to his credit the guardian was able to somehow stumble up to the prone figure and loom large over him as a marginally hysteric laugh brightened the room,

"Knuckles", Mighty covered her mouth with one hand; she really knew this was the wrong thing to be doing in the circumstances, but now it was a case of laugh or cry, "I think we can be certain that's not Lara".

"Or at least", it spread to Vector, "we can only hope it's not Lara". Ignoring them, the guardian removed a piece of paper from the front of the other echidna's bare chest, being careful not to touch the bundles of wires that sporadically erupted from the skin like metallic worms,

"There's a note"; _something else about it too, not just the words_; "it says 'front ent. ASAP".

"Easy then", Espio translated, "we go to the front door; Lara must have escaped on her own?" Rouge shook hr head,

"In that case why leave a note?"

"Locke?"

"No, still downstairs; the jennies are at the bottom of the base". Taking in these conspiracy theories with half an ear, Knuckles cast his eye over the knocked out Legionnaire again; _who did that to you? Where's my mother now?_ In frustration he looked at the paper scrap again, and with the force of a tonne of lead, it hit him.

It wasn't the words he recognised; it was the handwriting.

XXX

She saw him quiver as though shocked by lightning; Rouge shouldered her way past Espio and put her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Knucks, what is…?" He turned to face her and somehow the shock transmitted to her; his bloodless face and wild, frantic eyes sent a chill down her spine; Knuckles walked past unseeing her or anyone else, scanning every inch of the room they were all in, no-one who saw his face or the fear that radiated from every nuance of his body being in the right mind frame to stop him. _There's something else at work here_; he put his hand on the ruined door, paused as though asking some higher power for strength, for courage, and then heaved up, exposing the back of the crumpled metal. At the sight, the skin of Rouge's neck rose and, a second later, her dry, terror-cracked voice spoke,

"Oh God help us now".

XXX

"Hey", the sergeant, and his two accompanying orderlies, bustled over to the other Legionnaires; one was a non-combatant, but if the other one didn't have a damn good excuse to be standing around, he or she was going to end up doing some hard time latrine duty when this was over. Jabbing forwards a finger, he began,

"Didn't you hear; it's on. The guardian's here, the fool walked right into it, with all his allies as well, just like Lord Kragok promised. General assembly, main hall now; we're all going to give that stupid nudie a lesson he'll never forget. Move it trooper". Perhaps it was understandable; the thought that neither of the two Mobians in front of him were in the employ of the Dark Legion never crossed his mind as the sergeant made, if not the worst mistake of his life, possible one of the most painful.

Lashing out, the Legionnaire grabbed hold of Lara-Le's arm.

**Guard the target.**

A/N: …how's that for one of them?

If you don't know who **this** is, you need to read Angel of Darkness and Ice; for those of you who do know, come on, you didn't think he was staying away forever did you? No wonder Kommissar was getting nowhere fast :-).

P.S: DH – you guessed he was coming all right, but did you guess his disguise?


	4. Chapter 3 Darkness Falls

Chapter 3 – Darkness Falls.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating; huge chapter and a busy week not being a great combination in the circumstances. Anyway, for the reviewers:

HHH – He strikes again; you wanna know how this is going to pan out? Having read AODAI, I challenge you to take a guess!

DH – You've got some good ideas dude, but there's one flaw I think I can see underpinning your reasoning. This chapter should hopefully remove it, but if not let me know in the review and I'll tell you in next chapter's DH section :-).

GTP – Auuurgh, it's done it again! The site ate the ideas you've got; I still don't know where to contact you! I don't think you can put web addresses in reviews, there's got to be another way. Please, I've gotta know; your idea was probably better than mine, I've gotta see how I can get better!

Ri2 – Hire Seraph? You don't hire Seraph; he comes and goes as dictated by his debts and grudges. But how did he get there in the first place – now there's a different kettle of fish!

RGN – Yep, he's back – again, why's he helping Knuckles as he is? Because for some reason he was at the base in the first place, but why was that? Answers later!

TH – Yay, you're back :-). Hope you like what you're reading!

For Lara, it had been a second of utmost terror; when the hand had clasped her forearm like a iron band, she was sure she was heading back to the cell the infiltrator had just released her from, at the cost of his own hidden identity. _This is the end, for both of us_; her still masked eyes flashed sideways, only to see a blur of movement race up; there was a shout of sudden pain and the grip had been broken abruptly, the legionnaire snatching his hand back almost as if failing to believe a lower rank would dare strike at him. He looked up, the figure by the side of Lara-Le pressed his surprise attack and, over the next six seconds, the nurse's terror was banished utterly, replaced by outright wonderment as she found herself witnessing a master class in self-defence.

The same foot that had rapped the sergeant's fingers twisted in the air, the knee bending and then snapping forwards again, crashing home right under the higher ranking Legionnaire's chin without touching the floor; _instant knockout_; Lara found herself unconsciously measuring up the damage done during the fight;_ the impact would have jarred the brain and caused concussion._ Her diagnosis seemed to be borne out as the target of the snap kick flopped to the floor like a boned fish, limp and unmoving, his two comrades simply staring at the falling form agape. Without pause, one of them was taken down; as his foot landed, Lara's rescuer pushed off his back leg, shifting position to get all his weight behind his white gloved fist, sending a punch lancing into the next nearest soldier's chest; Lara winced as she heard a dim crack and the recipient echidna doubled over, unable to speak through the pain of his broken ribs. _That'll take weeks to heal properly_; the last of this Dark Legion trio belatedly swung around his side arm, trying to draw a bead on a target with his shaking, shocked hands; pivoting, the still masked predator gave him no chance – one hand gripped the gun barrel downwards, the other slammed into the stock of the gun from underneath, the torsion of the diametrically opposed forces combining to rip the gun out of its owners hands. With a swift jab to the mask, the Legionnaire was perhaps mercifully taken down to unconsciousness, spared from the events that were to occur as, left with only one viable but wounded opponent, the end was swift; with a faint electrical buzz and a red blast, the energy blast gun was discharged; at such close range, there was no chance of someone as accomplished as the cloaked vampire bat was to miss.

As he fell, Lara felt herself torn between outright hero-worship and cold dread; _that was three on one – even with the advantage of surprise, he made that look like…what the hell have I got myself into?_ The mask of the only Legionnaire bar herself still standing snapped around to her again and she froze, not resisting as he suddenly lunged for her.

**Target shocked; speed reduced. Information processed; all opponents logically assembled at single focal point. Disguise unnecessary, speed essential.**

Governed as he was by his cold, emotionless mind, Seraph calculated the most effective strategy for delivering his target to freedom and settling two of his debts simultaneously. Acting by logic, he moved quickly; in a matter of seconds he'd set off again, Lara-Le slung casually over his shoulder as he sprinted for the main entrance to this base; as he ran, he was already considering the possibility of settling a grudge as well in this place.

XXX

"What is it?" Mighty spared the door a glance, seeing something scrawled on the metal she'd buckled like tin but, as it had been disfigured by the impact, she couldn't understand what it meant; she was going by the effect it had had on the faces of the two treasure hunters – never before had she seen either the stoic guardian or his suave wife so openly display such outright fear, "what does it mean?"

"Trouble"; Rouge managed to breath the word before Knuckles, a garbled shout on his lips, face still warped into a mask of outright horror, raced from the cell, ripping the door open as he hurtled onto the corridor again; _he's got her_; memories he had devoutly prayed he'd never have to be exposed to again bubbled in his mind like rank gasses from a marsh – with sudden crystal clarity he remembered what had happened the last time he had crossed paths with the leather clad killer; _and now he's got my mum!_ He had to find them, had to save Lara from a fate worse than anything the Legion could provide when suddenly he was spun around, a hand grabbing his shoulder and tugging hard, pulling him back as Vector, not understanding the full significance of the small ink figure someone had daubed on the wall of Lara's prison cell, made to preserve the one advantage the Chaotix and guardians still had; the advantage of being in a group.

"Cool it red", even with his strength the crocodile struggled to hold the echidna as, unable to think enough to strike and free himself, Knuckles attempted to wrench himself free, "we gotta stick together or the Legion'll pick us off".

"Forget them; he's worse than a thousand Legionnaires put together"; that statement was like stepping through an icy shower; _worse than…what?_ Even as Vector's grip threatened to slacken, thankfully someone else came back to their senses; ducking past him, Rouge rushed past her husband and, as he turned to look at her, spoke in a clam, collected tone,

"Knuckles, it's not as bad as it looks", she saw the disbelief on his face and crossed her fingers that she could make him see it was true, "Seraph's here, and he's got Lara, but he won't hurt her; he can't hurt the innocent and", she played the key card, the ace up her sleeve, "he owes you, remember?"

_Praise the Master_; he'd forgotten that, crushed it into a mental ball and thrown it into the waste paper basket of his mnemonic recall – it had taken Rouge's reminder for him to plunge back into the dustbin and prise out that vital fact. Once more, he saw the vampire bat, standing behind a battered, kneeling Dr Eggman, point at him and in his dead, rasping voice proclaim his debt; _but I didn't want it – I said he owed me nothing. Obviously_; Knuckles let out a breath as, little by little, instances of Seraph's unwavering dedication to his own warped code of sorts strengthened what Rouge was trying to tell him; _he doesn't feel the same way_. Seeing the fear and desire to run draining from he guardian's face, Mighty crossed her arms, face creased in consternation as she quietly asked the question every member of the Chaotix present now wanted answering,

"What's going on Rouge? What's that thing on the door, and why do you two recognise it?" She didn't reply for a few minutes, too busy making sure Knuckles was reminded of the history she, and to a lesser extent he, shared with the dark angel. He glanced up, eyes clear now, and gave a small nod, not approving, not fearful, merely accepting what was happening now and how the circumstances had once more been altered beyond his control. Still not taking her eyes off him, Rouge was still able to divert enough attention from him to deliver an answer,

"It's a mark, a mark we both hoped we'd never see again; it's a long story and it can wait – basically the guy who left that mark has Lara and we need to get her back. With luck, he'll be waiting at the front entrance, that's what his note said at least".

"This, gentleman", Espio's eyes narrowed further as he sucked his top lip a touch, "I take it his name is Seraph?"

"That's what people call him; I don't know his real name and I don't care", Knuckles affirmed before looking down the corridor again, posture once more desperate to be making tracks, "all you need to know now is that he's mad; all he's bothered with is revenge and he doesn't care who he goes through to get it. The less time mum's near him the better; as far as I'm concerned he's not safe to be within a hundreds miles of".

"Then let's go", Mighty broke into a trot as she set her sights on the shutter that had blocked off the part of the corridor they'd emerged from, "if they think these window blinds are going to stop Mighty Armadillo, boy have they got a lesson coming".

"Wait Mighty", Vector's call brought her run to a halt as the crocodile shook his head, "don't touch them; they're electrified".

"How can you tell?" He favoured Rouge with a hang-dog smile,

"The amount of time I spend with my headphones, I can pick out the sound of static a mile off and those barriers are just crackling with it", he pointed at where the trap had pushed into the floor, tone more serious, "they're leading us somewhere, shepherding us where they want us and I'm guessin' whatever's at the end of the run ain't gonna be pretty".

"Whatever, we gotta go there; we can't wait for Locke", Knuckles was adamant of this fact, "tell him to head for the front when he's finished, that way one of us'll get mum. Come on", squaring his shoulders, the echidna marched down the tunnel, calling over his shoulder, "let's go and see what the Legion have prepared for us", he gave a casual laugh, "whatever it is, bet Eggman came up with something more nuts than anything these techno-freaks can wire up". Sharing glances and resolving themselves fatalistically, each of the other Mobians shrugged, realising that Knuckles was more likely than not right in this, and set off after him to whatever the Dark Legion had set up for them.

XXX

With a sudden jerk in the pit of her stomach, Lara realised her carrier had come to a dead halt, his shoulder jabbing her belly harder as he killed his momentum, which was increased by her extra weight on his shoulder. She tensed herself, pirouetting her body around as she'd been taught as she was swung off her perch, back to terra firma in the same instant the white glove shot out to hit a spot on the wall nearby that was glowing green. Lara span around to face the sudden grating that sprang out of nowhere, just seeing a sliver of darkness beginning to widen in the far wall, a faint glimmer of silver light dappling the ground as the moonlight shone through, lighting her way to freedom as she realised what this strange, silent mock-Legionnaire had done. _How can I ever thank him for this?;_ she didn't have the faintest idea, but still she had to try – turning around, words of worship and praise brimming on her lips, she found them dashed as something black eclipsed her vision and, as second later, a rush of cold air from outside ruffled her once more naked dreadlocks.

Throwing her ripped off mask aside, he reached into his robes and a second later he offered the object he'd produced from there to her; _a memory disk?_ She didn't understand and made to say so, only to see his finger indicate the still opening door, and the path to freedom.

"What about you?" She pointed at his still-intact disguise, "you can't stay here; they'll know you're not one of them". There was a slight pause but just as Lara suspected she would be left unanswered, a voice as dry and dead as fallen, crackling leaves rustled towards her, somehow slitting right through her flesh to dance directly on her spine,

"Not yet", he pointed once more, "go". This time, there was no argument; it took all of Lara's nerve not to break into a flat-out sprint as that deceased, unmanning voice crawled around in her mind, eating away at her confidence in the face of this new, unknown and disturbing individual.

**Target delivered. Knuckles Echidna must appreciate debt repaid. New objective – find Knuckles Echidna. Potential for grudge to be settled during search mission.**

Seeing his new self-imposed orders, the infiltrator began to strip off his disguise, peeling away most of the redundant material to expose the sleek gleam of leather hidden beneath. Though impractical, the bulky uniform he had been forced to adopt to maintain his façade did have its advantages; as Seraph ran back into the shadows of the base, he knew it wouldn't have been possible for him to carry the equipment that now bounced on his waist and across his folded wings uncloaked.

XXX

He'd seen the doors open and adrenaline had rushed into him; in seconds the gun was at his shoulder and aimed at the doors. From his hidden vantage point, he had a clear view of any potential threats that might have tried to come out after him, making sure he had a clear field of fire with the blast gun Locke had leant him. He set his eye to the sight and immediately the scene sprang up in front of him; the picture was green and blurry, the night vision not as sharp as normal sight, but it was still clear enough to let Wyn pick out the single hunched figure that emerged from the opening doorway. He saw the robes and his finger tightened on the trigger, then the next second his other hand forced the barrel up, way off target as the breath left his lungs in an explosive gasp of shock. He knew he was right, there was no way he could ever forget Lara's face even though the fuzziness of the scope picture, but still he forced himself to look again, bringing his eye to the gun's eyepiece and double-check his first sight. _Oh my…Lara_; warm, glorious relief swept straight through the brown echidna; _Knuckles must have done it, or she managed to free herself – who cares, she's safe_. Well, she wasn't quite; he shook himself as he considered she was quite literally alone in the dark; she didn't have night vision to help her find her way to him.

Wyn cursed for a minute; he was too close to the base to risk shouting, or even moving at all, in case he garnered unwanted attention, but at the same time he couldn't, wouldn't even think about leaving Lara alone in the uncertain darkness. Putting up the gun, the ground his teeth; _think, gotta be something you can do – no noise and no light, just gotta get her attention_; he wormed around in his position – something skittered in the gloom and suddenly it hit him. Stopping, he scooped up a handful of nearby stones and this firearm again, balancing it one handed to see through the scope as he drew back the other for the throw.

XXX

Lara took another slow step into the darkness, each one requiring tremendous willpower and courage; since she'd been set free by her recalcitrant rescuer, she'd had reason to doubt his motives; this could be another kind of trap to raise her spirits, and then crush them by recapture. She raised her foot, going by the light of the moon and stars to guide her path, when suddenly something struck the ground ahead, raising a small, scraping noise. She froze, primal instincts straining her ears as she sought to make out what it was; _friend or foe?_ There was another tap, a little further away this time, her blindness compensated for by other senses as, after a second's thought, she took another pace forwards, following the sound and rewarded by another, again ahead of her. She made to follow, keeping her guard up and high, expecting treachery until, like a fount of eternal hope rising from a barren desert of despair, a small, urgent whisper pierced the darkness.

"Lara, this way".

XXX

He had tracked every inch of her journey with a silent prayer on his lips, and it had been answered. He threw the gun to the side as it if were nothing more than a twig, pushing upright as he heard her scrabble up the slight slope he sheltered behind. Something larger and darker than the surroundings loomed up in front of him; he snapped his arms around it, feeling relief sweep out of him in a tide as he felt Lara reciprocate, sobs beginning to infiltrate her voice,

"Wyn", she crushed him into her body and he lay his head on her shoulder, grateful beyond belief that he was here, "what are you doing here?"

"Never mind"; _it doesn't matter_; "Lara, you're safe – that's all that counts".

"Yes, but not for long", she suddenly pushed back, again aware of where they were and fearful because of it, "we've got to get away from here".

"No, we have to wait for the others". Not quite on his wavelength, she inquired hurriedly,

"What others?" Now it was his turn to panic,

"Knuckles and the rest?" He couldn't see her face in the darkness; he was forced to ask, "they weren't with you?"

"No; my son's here?" _A trap, and I was the bait_; guilt and terror, far worse than anything she'd ever felt for herself, clawed at Lara; a thousand phantoms of her son being set upon by the legionnaires that infested the base still tormenting her stressed mind. Wyn cursed again, fumbling for the receiver that he'd let slip to hold Lara even as he sought to reassure her,

"Don't worry; Knuckles, Rouge, the Chaotix and Locke are all inside; there's nothing the Legion can do that can take them all out. I'll let them know you're here with me, safe; they'll be here as soon as you can say coffee creams". Lara smiled fractionally, reminded of her favourite of all the sweets Tails brought her from the world below, before watching on with concerned eyes as she heard Wyn speak,

"Guys, get out of there; I've got Lara, she's out the front and safe. Just get out as soon as you can".

XXX

_Praise the Master_; as the words came crackling through his wrist unit, Locke felt a weight as heavy as Angel Island slide from his shoulders – there was nothing in this place that could hurt him now, not when he knew Lara was in the clear from here. All he had to do now was, as Wyn had said, clear out; with that in mind, having planted the last of his explosives and primed them all, he set about taking out the next and most recent obstacle in his path. He'd heard the shutters come down and in that second had made the same leap Vector had; the Legion wanted everyone who'd come to rescue Lara to go somewhere, somewhere where, no doubt, a big surprise was awaiting them. _Fortunately_; the scientist smiled grimly to himself as he produced a device from a pocket of his lab coat; the small black handle looked a little like the handle of a pocket knife, thought the blade was missing, or at least it was until Locke tapped the activation stud at one end; _I brought along something to short-circuit this kind of trap._

With a sudden burst of heat, the air around the other end of the handle was warped by a sudden, intense heat. Locke slowly extended this invisible blade forwards, watching with detached interest as the short-ranged thermal lance produced by his invention quickly melted through the thin metal sheet arresting his progress, the electricity it conducted defeated by the lack of contact to conduct through. The thermal knife was allowing the former guardian to cut his way clear of the Legion's trap, but as he knew the love of his life was safe, he suddenly realised time wasn't an issue. At least, it wasn't yet.

XXX

"So", Knuckles spoke into the silence left by the announcement, a huge grin on his face that was echoed by most of his companions, "he's paid off his debt".

"And done us a favour in the process", Mighty whistled as Rouge caught her husband's eye and winked, "all we gotta do now is sort out the Legion and get outta here".

"Which would have been a lot harder if Lara had been with us", Espio pointed out, seeing the ingenuity of the trap prepared for them, "we couldn't have guaranteed her safety in a melee and they'd have used that against us". Vector stood tall and bunched one fist into his palm, cracking his knuckles and he smiled toothily,

"Well, pointless hangin' around here waitin' for them to come and get us; they're more likely to shoot first, ask question later if we make 'em wait. I say we go to them, put 'em on the back foot – least then we can start clobbering things soon as we get the chance".

"Seconded", Rouge dropped down slightly, one leg extended, stretching her natural weapons in readiness for a coming scrap, "been too long since I had a decent fight". Knuckles looked up indignant,

"Hey, you train with me batgirl".

"Like I said, been a long time since I had a decent fight".

"I'll remind you of that next time I start putting the locks on you". Mighty grimaced; _payback time Rouge;_

"You two, keep that sort of talk for the bedroom", both partners turned to stare at her incredulously, Rouge catching the gleam in her eye and, out of deference to the armadillo's uncharacteristic snap in the comeback, nodded deferentially as she continued, "right now, there's legionnaires to pound".

"Quite true; Vector, stick close to me, if I get a chance I'm putting that new trick I worked on into play". The crocodile chortled,

"See, told you it was worth going to see White Smoke Cutter after all didn't I?"

"Maybe; the rest of it was awful though" Espio reminisced as, matching stride with the other four friends, he walked to a final showdown with the ones who had orchestrated the trap, "anyway, just bear with me a second". He raised his wrist to his lips for a few minutes, setting the dial on his communicator and whispering softly; after listening for a couple of minutes, he nodded in satisfaction,

"Right, told Locke to join the party as soon as he can; he's being held back by more of those barriers, but he should be with us soon".

"All we gotta do is keep them talking", Rouge smiled, stretching her wings as, being slightly ahead of them, she rounded the next hairpin corner first; the way she stopped dead caused everyone else to freeze until, slowly, inexplicably, the bat chuckled and turned to look at Vector,

"I owe you a drink scales; there's nothing pretty waiting for us here".

_Cheek_; Kommissar growled under her breath as she watched the smirking creature in front of her casually sweep her eyes over the ranks of assembled Legionnaires. As was normal for platoons working in concert, the front rank were on bended knee, weapons held shoulder high, allowing those behind to shoot over their heads without risking hitting their own comrades. Against such a concentration of fire, there was no hope of dodging every shot fired and no-one, not even a guardian, could survive that many concussive gun blasts conscious.

"Come out guardian", she heard her brother's voice call from the other end of the line, the twins anchoring the edges of the slightly curved formation, "come out where we can see you, and drag your skulking friends out as well".

"I know you", a disembodied voice, thick with loathing, preceded the arrival of her very distant relation; despite herself, she felt her eyes widen as Knuckles loomed out from the tunnel, seeming to fill its entirety with his dark promise, pointing at her brother and snarling, "Kragok, isn't it; the one who sent that message?" There was a slight rustle that she didn't really register as all her thoughts were on Knuckles. _What a dish_; she smiled a little, chuckling as she mentally placed him out of her reach – she wasn't that keen to keep it in the family; _one day he's going to make some lucky girl very happy indeed_.

"So I am", she glanced down to see Kragok had stepped out of rank, a little ahead of the legionnaires, scowling as he saw all four of the foes that presented themselves to the guns of the Dark Legion, "I am interested; how did you come by such knowledge?"

"It's a case of who you know" _Ugh_; somehow, though he was taller and, Lien had to concede, an awful lot more ugly, she'd somehow missed the large green Mobian that was stood slightly behind and to the right of the guardian. He folded his arms, teeth bared in what looked to her like a feral challenge; it was only when she heard his bass chuckle that she realised he was smiling,

"We know who you are, an' the fact you've got a sister, who I can only hope didn't inherit your ugly genes"; _that was good_; Lien fought to stop smiling as Kragok glowered from the insult, "from Amy Rose".

A ripple of discord, faint but noticeable, was cast through the assembled legionnaires; among the common troopers, that name had become legend. Stories had spread like wildfire about a great warrior from the world below that had managed not only to defeat great Dimitri, father of the Legion itself, but also shatter the Bloodstone, source of power and rival of the hated Master Emerald. She was a figment of terror and begrudged awe, hated and at the same time well respected and feared, who would oppose the Legion at every turn; indeed, many minor mishaps and misbehaving circuits had been attributed to 'Rose pricks' by bad-tempered Legionnaires. Seeing this, and perhaps encouraged by it, the green beast carried on,

"Yeah, she's a bit of a friend of ours and mentioned she'd seen you two bein' thawed out, though how they froze you in the first place's beyond me; any ice touchin' your face shoulda shattered on principal", Lien had to bit down on her tongue and made a mental note that, once the unpleasant details of the capture had been glossed over, she wanted a chat with this one; anyone who could rub her brother up the wrong way like that had to be worth some respect in her book, "and she said who you were Kragok; just outta interest, what's your sister's real name?" Mentioned, she stepped forwards, knocking her hood back as she did so and locking eyes with the crocodile as she spoke,

"I am Kommissar, that's all you need to know".

"No it ain't", he looked her up and down with incredulity, "I need to know your number babe".

There were a few giggles from somewhere in the ranks, though thankfully Lien held her smile in check as Kragok's bale eye silenced the noise before snapping back to a single point, his voice grating thickly,

"Show yourself; I can still see you".

"Worth a try", Espio flushed back to purple and immediately found several guns trained on him, the line of soldiers reacting instinctively to the presence of a new enemy. The chameleon looked supremely unconcerned, fingering something in his hands as the co-leader of the base brought his claw forwards,

"Question", the female member of the opposition was looking at her brother's prosthetic in a calculating manner, "how do you scratch your left side with something like that?"

"You learn to put up with it", Kragok smiled chillingly before making the necessary Legion offers, "you have no chance of victory, so you have a choice; come quietly, or we'll take you down. Personally, I'm hoping you take option two", his red eye glittered in the gloom, claw snapping as if eager for battle, "the blast guns won't kill you, but believe me, they hurt".

"You like pain huh?" Knuckles took a pace forwards, the movement answered by about thirty or so guns swivelling to lock him in their sights, "well listen up Kraggy; by the time I'm done with you, you'll…" That was one threat he never finished as, for the third time in the day, events were altered by circumstances far beyond the guardian's control.

XXX

He'd been waiting for one chance; he'd almost gone for it when Vector had been insulting but by talking as he had, the crocodile had been forced to move out of position. All he needed was one small distraction; a gun going off because of an itchy trigger finger, one of the two twins getting a little over-excited, anything that would take the minds of the troops that opposed them off their targets for the briefest instant, just so he could give his tactic a shot.

A series of deafeningly loud, shockingly bright explosions blasting out of the ranks of the Dark Legion formation was more than he could have ever hoped for.

Even as everyone else's attention snapped to what was happening in the ranks of the Dark Legion's previously unbreakable line, Espio was in action, turning his head away to avoid being blinded by the sudden blasts of light even as his ears, along with everyone else's, rang at the explosion of the concussion grenades.

"Vec, now"; the crocodile was just fast enough; one of his meaty hands snapped down and gave his smaller team mate a platform to push off; with a jump and a spring, Espio unleashed all the power in his legs to carry him up high, giving him a much more elevated view of the battle as it was. Though he saw, he didn't have time to register what was going on; having carefully collected all the stars on his person while everyone else as occupied the Legion's attention, Espio made his gambit. The air in front of him blurred as, with one giant sweep of his arms, he sent every single one of them scything outwards, directed at his foes in the Legion in a deadly silver rain.

Vector, after seeing Espio practise the technique he'd managed to adapt from a trashy ninja B-movie, had christened it the Star Storm and, as the chameleon wasn't interested in giving his skills a particular name, the title had stuck. It was also very apt; most ninjitsu techniques relied on subtlety and precision, but if ever there was an exception to the rule it was this one, and if ever a situation demanded an alternative it was when you were basically alone against an awful lot of guns. Poorly aimed, relying on saturation rather than accuracy, the Star Storm was designed to keep your opponent's head down and, as he began descending from his height, payload expended, the chameleon noted with a grim smile that his technique had done its job well. A couple of the legionnaires had been taken down, probably by sleep stars, but most had just been distracted, forced to raise their guns to shield their faces and the masks that covered them, losing their bead on their targets for vital seconds. _Vital seconds_; Espio twisted in mid-air as he'd done a hundred times, feeling with the same thrill that always ran through him Vector catch his descending form and heave, hurling him straight towards the crumbling line like a missile; a shiver of impact ran up his foot as battle lust began to pound through him, his first target knocked flying by the force behind his kick; _they're not getting back_.

XXX

Knuckles hadn't waited; he'd seen Kragok's head snap around, organic eye widening in fear at the sudden detonations and had gone in steaming; he was the one responsible for his mother's kidnapping, so he was the one who was going to suffer for it. The technocrat leapt backwards, almost swallowed by the ranks of surrounding troopers as he bellowed at them to fire; having been on the periphery of the blast radius, some of them were still able to. Knuckles rolled forwards, presenting as small a target as possible to their hungry guns; something scorched the air overhead, ruffling the fur of his back as he went upright, getting back to his feet; black filled his vision as something crashed into him. Already unsteady having just completed his roll, the guardian fell backwards, his assailant on top of him, the brave or foolish legionnaire struggling to bring his gun to bear in the close quarter struggle. Knuckles grappled, every second precious as the guardian was shrewd enough to know the rest of the legion wouldn't be far behind their friend in capitalising on this advantage; thinking along these lines, he slammed his forehead forwards, fighting to free himself in the shortest time possible. The resultant impact made his vision blur slightly, but most importantly it completely stunned the target, the legionnaire's struggles cutting off, allowing Knuckles to grip him properly. _Okay, now let's see how popular you are_; he gave a feral smile as he found his feet, dragging his insensate opponent up with him, using him as a shield to prevent any further shots being fired at him while he took a second to realise what was now going on.

It appeared everyone else had had the same idea he had; he couldn't see anyone bar Vector in the press of bodies, but that press was thinning as, up close and personal, three things were hampering the Legion. For a start, they couldn't fight anywhere near as well as any of the Chaotix could and secondly, once this had devolved into a melee, none of them could risk shooting for fear of hitting their allies rather than their foes. Most important of all though, his father had done a good job with those grenades; most of the legionnaires had been caught by the explosions and, hamstrung as they were by the blinding and deafening explosions, they had quickly been taken out by the charging Chaotix. Even as he look, Vector's tail lashed out and caught one of the foes surrounding him in the stomach; as the legionnaire doubled over, the crocodile snapped his head down, his jaws gripping the disguised echidna's chest and, with a shake of the head, hurled him away from the press. _Intimidation_; Knuckles watched some of the black robed echidnas back off from the roaring crocodile, guns hanging useless as fear paralysed the trigger fingers; _scare them, then go for the…_

His thoughts were cut short by a sudden red glare from the corner of his eye; without thinking he dragged his Mobian shield around to field the shot, feeling something akin to an electric shock run through his fingers as his shield moaned before going completely limp. He heard a curse, looked around to see Kragok snarling, the middle section between his claw fingers sparking as he tried to build up power for a second shot. Yelling an incoherent battle cry and flinging his now useless burden from him, towards the legionnaires surround their leader, the guardian didn't waste time; charging forwards before any of the legionnaires could get a clear shot around the flying body, Knuckles crashed into them, fists laying waste to anything within range. One punch sent one of his opponents to the floor, taken down by the sheer power behind the hit even as Knuckles was careful not to bring his spurs into play; _the Legion don't kill if they can help it – I have to respect that restraint._ As he fought his way through the press, casting down anything that tried to stand against him, blood singing in his ears and pounding through his veins as he found himself in the thrill of battle again, his eyes never left Kragok, glowering at the joint second-in-command of the Legion with all kinds of promises of pain.

XXX

_Damn, the shot missed_; he backed away further into the press of bodies surrounding him to gain a little more distance, giving his arm more time to charge up and deliver a final blow to his raging opponent. _Cut off the head and the body will die_; Kragok took solace in the words of one of his former tactic tutors; if he could somehow bring down the guardian the heart would go out the rest of those fighting under his stead. He was getting there; he pushed another faceless trooper forwards to delay the guardian's arrival; he needed just a few more seconds to build up the power his claw needed. _One more should do it_; backing away further still, the lord of the Legion reached back, felt the familiar robe of another legionnaire and gripped on, ready to throw his chosen one into the fray; _what?_ There was a disjointed shock that ran through his still organic hand, the legionnaire slumped, falling from his grip, the dead weight slewing him half-around, just in time to feel his lungs vacate his chest as something smashed into his ribs with the force of a wrecking ball.

XXX

His eyes hadn't moved from Kragok, until now; with a jolt of sick shock, Knuckles realised it hadn't been his father that had thrown the concussion grenades. As Kragok fell to one knee, ribs no doubt creaking after that haymaker, Knuckles found himself looking at someone he'd tried his very hardest to forget; someone he'd hoped he'd never see again.

He looked just the same as he had the last time; still as monolithic, still as silent, still as sinister and, as one of Seraph's knees lanced up, cracking Kragok's shoulder and avoiding his metallic forearm with the speed of a striking snake, Knuckles realised he was still as deadly. Caught between two threats, one of which they were only just noticing as their leader's shout of pain echoed around the immediate area, the surrounding Legionnaires wavered for a fraction of a second, all Knuckles needed to close distance and send another one flying backwards with a hard push, disrupting the aim of others nearby as Seraph, having shot his hand down and hauled Kragok up by the neck, sought to earn a little more room; with a twist and snap of his hands, the angel in black leather threw the Legion leader away, back towards the corridor which had led to Lara's prison cell. Knuckles span to the side, casually ramming his elbow into the face plate of a Legionnaire who'd tried to arrest his master's flight and laying him senseless as Kragok bounced on the steel floor, rolling to an eventual halt, fighting to sit up and overcome his pain as his would-be conqueror raced after him.

**Repay grudge of pain. Intimidate other opponents. Knuckles Echidna located.**

_Fine, you want him you can have him_; Knuckles wasn't exactly scared of Seraph, but he'd had respect for the previously accused murderer drilled into him; he had to give credit to the Mobian who'd put Eggman on ice for good. From what little he remembered of the night at Jessie Wheatear's and the letter Seraph had scribed to absolve Nack of any blame, the echidna realised there had to be a reason Seraph was doing this; his fixation on revenge and getting even was enslaving him to destroy Kragok for some slight. Anyone in the way, well, that was just bad luck on their part and, having gone a few rounds with the dangerous angel in the past, Knuckles had no desire to repeat the experience. _You finish him_; the guardian thought silently; _I'll keep these goons off your back_. Even as he watched, one Legionnaire, dredging up some insane courage from deep within, or perhaps underestimating what Seraph could do, threw himself into the path of Seraph's revenge.

XXX

Kicking back her newest rival and flicking her head to shake off a few drops of sweat, Rouge glanced around to see Mighty, who had gone with her shoulder to shoulder in the headlong rush into close quarters, pile-drive her way through the Legionnaire stupid enough to be stood in front of her; what amounted to a love-tap from the armadillo enough to pole-axe him to the floor. She'd heard her husband's battle shout and, knowing her knucklehead as well as she did, she just knew where he'd be; either he or Kragok were going down and, up close and personal, her money would be on Knuckles every time. She and Mighty were fighting to get close to the action; she also wanted a ringside seat to levelling the head honcho of this kidnapping operation that had snatched her mother-in-law and, as the battle wore on it became apparent that she was getting there.

The Legionnaires, for all their cybernetic augmentations, couldn't cope with her speed or Mighty's strength; together with the armadillo she was going through anything that stood in her way like a hot knife though butter. The only doubt she'd felt had been the one who'd introduced herself as Kommissar; at the start of this fight she'd torn the whip from her belt and was using it to good effect; Rouge had heard it scar the air near her ears at one stage and twisted in time to dodge; she'd locked eyes with the female echidna before the tide of battle had conspired to force them apart. She hadn't seen her since and was grateful; all she wanted now was just to get out of here and make sure Lara was okay.

"Hey Mighty", the armadillo glanced over and read the signal; nothing was nearby so it was time to go airborne. Quick as though Mighty dropped to one knee; quicker still Rouge pushed off, running up the plates of her friend's back and taking to the air, spreading her wings for a boost of speed, enough to dive down on her next target. She scanned the battle for a second, seeing Vector standing over Espio protectively, the chameleon down for some reason. Leaving it, she flicked her eye to where her husband had charged off to, and her heart froze.

Her wings stopped beating and she fell to the ground, just enough presence of mind left to kick out at a raised gun, sending the blast up into the air as she punched out, her weaker fist enough to unsettle the aiming Legionnaire. He was tougher than the average though; holding his gun like a short quarterstaff, he jabbed at her with quick, sharp strikes, aiming to wind her as she danced back out of range, seeking an opening for her feet to come into play. _There_; she lashed out, only to feel nothing bar pain in her toes as she hit metal rather than flesh; _cybernetic legs_; he made to press his advantage as the press hemmed Rouge in, other legionnaires jostling to try and bring weapons to bear like they'd been trained to do before something broke through their ranks like a cannonball, scattering them like ninepins. Rouge saw her foe's attention shift and launched herself at him; this time she made no mistake, kicking out at the mask and feeling her foot bite home. He crumpled like wet paper as Mighty, reflexively tossing a couple of Legionnaires out of her path, came to her side, alert for any danger as she whispered out the corner of her mouth,

"Had me going for a sec there; you look like you've seen a ghost".

"Not a ghost", the bat bared her fangs at a cowering Legionnaire, watching as he backed off, afraid to shoot, wary of her speed, "an angel". Mighty furrowed her brow for a second before shrugging,

"I take it you'll explain later; whoa!" She twisted, exposing her back; Rouge watched as a green glare seemed to spread over the armadillo's formidable shell and Mighty fumed,

"Right, who did that?" Not waiting for an answer, she span back around and whipped out an arm, grabbing the still-hot gun from the Legionnaire who'd fired it. Holding it in one fist, she brought her thumb forwards; with a sharp snap, the gun was reduced to a ruin and, with a gulp, the knot of Legionnaires surrounding both Mobians threw down their weapons.

XXX

_Ouch_; even if he knew these scum had kidnapped his mother, Knuckles still winced with the rest of them as one Legionnaire paid the price for idiotic bravery. Seraph hadn't even slowed down, merely jumped up and brought his knee forwards; Knuckles had seen the Legionnaire's head and torso forced backwards and, using him as a platform, as he had with Rouge over a year before, the dark angel went airborne. Flashing out his wings for a split-second to stabilise his flight, Seraph used the extra distance to aim his jump right at Kragok; Knuckles interposed himself before anyone who'd try to interfere, raising his fearsome fists as a guard as the Legionnaires made to surge forwards, trying to rescue their leader. Presented with the guardian as a bulwark, shorn of leadership, the common troopers were unsure and could only really watch as their leader, snarling and aiming his claw upwards, fired the blast meant for Knuckles at the more pressing threat.

**Armour testing. Test reveals armour still proof against Chaos energy**.

XXX

As he tracked the beam of energy, Kragok swore he'd crush the one who'd dare attack him with his own claw; _no-one strikes me and lives to tell the tale_. With the blast though, that should have been…his mechanical eye saw it first, informing his brain that the emerald blast he'd unleashed had undergone a refraction of twenty-nine point five degrees. With a sudden rush of panic, his organic eye put that into real terms; _I missed, he deflected it_. His claw fell in disbelief, that had been a perfect shot, but this strange black thing had just twisted away from the main blast and it had somehow curved away, up towards the ceiling. He watched it strike the metal there, dissipated harmlessly, uselessly; it was only when he heard footsteps coming towards him that he tried belatedly to raise his guard; as something crushed his chest and he felt his feet leave the floor, he realised he was far too late.

XXX

Knuckles didn't take his eyes off the foes in front of him; even though they appeared to be more focussed on what was now occurring behind him, he wasn't sure if that was just a play-act or not. His ears told him enough; he'd heard the rush of air and slap of impact that said Seraph must had steamed right into Kragok, and then scant seconds later the louder slam of impact; he could only assume the two had either hit a wall or the floor. Now there was a dull, repetitive swish and smack, like someone tenderising a juicy steak in a butcher's shop. It didn't sound pretty, it didn't sound good for Kragok, but it was only when he saw the Legionnaires before him, and there weren't that many left, begin to edge away, palpable tension almost radiating from them, that his curiosity began to itch. He blinked more often, almost as if it was something in his eye, but as the fear in them became if anything more pronounced, he licked his lip and decided to risk it; _none of them have guns raised, I've got a second_; he glanced over his shoulder, and the second grew. Knuckles watched with the Legionnaires as, in one flash of dread-inspiring inspiration, he knew that, last time he and Seraph had crossed swords, the vampire bat had only been fencing with him.

XXX

The two figures at the wall weren't fighting; there was no way something this one-sided could be called a fight; this was clinical punishment administered by a master of the art. Kragok was slumped against the wall, barely conscious, the only reason he hadn't fallen to the floor being that Seraph's strikes were coming too thick and fast for him to afford such a luxury. The sight of the other echidna's bleeding, bruised face, as it was rocked again and again by the sharp jabs and crosses Seraph liberally administered, sent a shudder through the guardian; _that could so easily have been me, especially at night_. Up so close and personal, Seraph was using everything at his disposal; hands, elbows and knees, to hammer his point home; each strike an example of clinically measured brutality – each one did as much damage as Seraph wanted it to and no more. Knuckles was dimly aware that the sounds of the battle were receding, that more and more Legionnaires were being drawn in to watch this spectacle of their glorious leader being laid low, and then he knew what Seraph had done. _Psychological warfare_; the echidna shivered as the vampire bat's unfeeling ability to mess up people's heads came back to haunt him, even if this time it wasn't aimed at him directly; '_I can take on the biggest of you, what can you do to me?' – the best way to win against a pack._

XXX

**Grudge repaid in full now.**

Seraph knew this was enough, but he had to make sure he could escape unimpeded and to do that he needed to break the resolve of his opponents. Fortunately, in this instance, he could both finish off the one who had harmed him and ensure the impact of fear. With his opponent barely conscious, the vampire bat made to end this conflict.

Dropping into a crouch, forming his fingers into a spear-like shape, Seraph uncoiled like a spring, using all the power of his legs and arm to drive home his strike, right under Kragok's solar plexus. It was a potentially fatal blow; had the dark angel wished it, he could have potentially ruptured the echidna's diaphragm, rendering him unable to breath, leaving him to choke to death. The strongest fighters of all could go through an opponent's chest with that move, striking under the rib cage to reach the heart and other organs, rip them apart for the slaughter, but not in this case. This was only a grudge of pain; Seraph didn't hit as hard as he could have done but even so Kragok, even though the haze of pain his beating had put him in, simultaneously lost three things; the air in his lungs, all feeling below that point and most of his consciousness. He was dimly aware of falling, and then a mighty impact on his jaw finally put out his lights for good.

Following up from the spear hand, as Seraph had predicted, the target's legs gave way and he fell; as he did, Seraph powered up further, drawing his spear hand up, exposing his elbow in a swinging upwards strike. Down met up at high velocity; Kragok was lifted off his feet by the blow, the back of his head bouncing off the steel wall behind him with a dull thunk, body going completely limp as, with a final move, Seraph slid both his arms under the unconscious echidna's guard, holding his arms out of the way as he heaved, lifting the defeated lord of the Dark Legion straight as an arrow before, with a push away, falling backwards to the solid ground.

XXX

As the dull grinding of breaking cartilage broke over the battlefield, a solemn silence seemed to descend, all shocked eyes turning to see the result of the one on one fight. There was a second of stillness before, with a twist and kick to free his arms, Seraph stood from the wreckage of the melee, his black leather besmirched with blood. Even as the Legionnaires that could see this tried to disbelieve, tried to convince themselves that Kragok could not be defeated, would never be laid low, their new opponent flicked out with one foot, rolling his former foe onto his back, exposing his destroyed face, slathered in the blood that poured from his broken nose. Standing tall, the demon in black turned his eyes, only there were no eyes to his unseeing mask, a fact that made his silhouette all the more frightening, all the more sinister, and growled, daring any to come forwards and face his wrath.

"Kill him".

XXX

She had shouldered her way though the firing line she'd been trying to form in the hurly-burly of battle; the chaos had been defeating her efforts to ensure that, if the guardian and his allies managed to defeat the bulk of the Legion, they would have to run another gun line before they could escape. Now she destroyed her own hard work; the whisper had spread; Kragok was engaged in single combat, and was being defeated – she had refused to believe it, but at the sound of bone giving way and the quiet that had followed, she had been consumed with a desire to know. Pushing past, she forced herself to follow the direction of the gazes and see…

Hate, hot as the fires of hell could ever make it, exploded in her chest; as if possessed by another, far darker being, Lien-Da found herself ripping the pistol from her belt and trying to draw a bead on the one who had dared do this to her aggravating but still beloved brother. Her gun wavered; rage destroying her aim as she screamed aloud words she had thought she'd never say,

"Kill him", and to hell with the Legion's ethos; sometimes death was justified, "kill him, kill the one who dared harm Kragok". Tears blurred her vision as she cracked her whip, blazing eyes sweeping left and right, ready to tear through anyone who sought to disobey her orders. Perhaps at this second fearing her more than the one who'd reduced their former leader to a bloodied wreck, the reserves she'd managed to pull from the battle, about twenty or slightly less of the fifty or so who'd started, piled in, snapping off shots as they went. Much as she was aching to join them, Lien knew it was not her place; _I shall wait until I get my shot – then I'll avenge you Kragok._

XXX

**Second enemy leader indicated. Neutralisation necessary. Numbers substantial – use weapons.**

He saw his enemies advancing and, though he bore them no grudges, the fact they were attempting to harm him made their good health secondary to his own. Their numbers were also a disadvantage for him; due to his extended infiltration, however, this fact had not gone unnoticed by the efficient rogue. Reaching for the straps that secured his preferred weapons under his wings, not flinching as green bursts of energy pitted the walls either side of him, Seraph let them come to him, holding his husbanded power in check until it could be used to best effect.

XXX

Rouge saw the soulless vampire bat tense up and, more importantly, due to her ultra-sensitive hearing she'd been able to pick out a faint, very faint clicking noise, almost as if caused by her own echo-location; _oh Christ, I know that noise!_ And she did, she'd heard it only once before, right before being assailed by something that had thrown her for a loop and eventually led to her defeat by the son of the former member of her guild. Quick as thought, she brought her hands to her head, bellowing at the top of her lungs,

"Cover your ears!"

**Enemies in position. Utilise.**

XXX

Standing above Espio's prone body, the chameleon having just been hit by a gun blast at point-blank range, Vector had just heard the bat's shout and looked up in time to see Seraph, or who he assumed to be Seraph, suddenly lean forwards, almost as if spitting at those who would try to swamp him, two object that looked disturbingly familiar to swords held loosely, one in each hand as he somehow brought a new meaning to the phrase 'deafening silence'. A wave of white noise tore at Vector's eardrums; out of reflex he clamped his hands down even harder on his ears, trying to block out the hateful noise the vampire bat was generating. He was smart enough to realise this was some kind of echo-location, he'd seen and felt Rouge use it often enough to know that, but this was completely new to him; he'd never heard of it being used as a weapon before. He forced himself to look up and saw the results of the vampire bat's soundless, Silent Scream.

The Legionnaires that head been driven forwards by Kommissar's thirst for revenge were in disarray; those at the front, hardest hit by the wall of white noise, had stumbled, unable to carry on in the face of such a painful phenomenon, clutching hands to their masks to stop the penetrating beam of ultrasound. This stumbling had caused something akin to a pile-up; those behind had crashed into them, creating a block up that none had been properly able to avoid. The crocodile whipped his eyes back to Seraph's immobile figure, only to see it was immobile no longer; the bat had taken off at a sprint, hands clasped around the handles of what he now recognised not as daggers, but as knife sticks, black and featureless as everything else Seraph seemed to possess.

In that moment, and the few violent exchanges that resulted from it, Vector and everyone else who could spectate the event were left in no doubt as to what Seraph really was.

The knife sticks flickered in and out like adder's tongues and wherever they struck destruction followed; each blow blended seamlessly with the next manoeuvre, be it a dodge, and block or a second attack. Like shadow and darkness combined, the dark angel waltzed with his opponents, mocking them without meaning to, making their best efforts seem slow, clumsy and pointless as he struck and retreated at will. With one strike he had whipped his left hand down to a Legionnaire's knee, in the next move he had punched up with an uppercut, the butt of the knife stick protruding from the fist turning it into a torpedo that blew the unfortunate victim of his attention from his feet. _Sweet mother of the lord_; Vector felt even his cold blood chill further as, in the space of seconds, he saw this strange alien in leather obliterate anything and everything in his way. He was dimly aware of someone still shouting and bellowing orders, but as Seraph suddenly flipped one of his weapons up, holding it by the long end rather than the handle, then jumped up at least six feet from a standing start, arm back for the cast, he realised this stalker must have figured that out also.

XXX

The one she wanted dead was a fool after all; he'd leapt right into her gun sights and she didn't think twice; Lien pulled the pistol up, aiming the shot, only for something coming closer far too fast to be safe to balloon in her vision. Her eyes didn't focus on it, there wasn't time; her self-preservation instincts kicked in and she threw up her arms to shield herself.

She was saved by pure fortune; had the flying knife-stick hit her arms, or especially her fingers, the bones would have broken like breadsticks. As it was, with a crack of breaking metal, the weapon impacted on the butt of her pistol; shock jarred her hand and pinched the sensitive skin of her fingers, but the damage was minimal compared to what it could have been. She dropped into a squat, seeing the mangled remains of her gun fall to the floor and cursing; _no chance of a shot now_. She looked up and her heart, still high on anger, clashed with her head; over half her forces were down, either unconscious or unable to fight at all, the others were in a kind of shock, unwilling to so much as raise a gun against the black figure that had decimated their ranks so savagely. All the guardian's allies saved one were still fighting, but the final nail in the coffin was the sudden blaze of green from one of the passages that had been sealed off. A plate of metal clanged inwards and from the tunnel now exposed came a blast of pure emerald energy, similar to an emerald blast gun but at the same time so different it was unmistakeable. The blast went wide of the target, the Legionnaire this new member of the Brotherhood had aimed at diving to the floor to avoid being fried as Lien finally reached something of a compromise; _my duty is to preserve the life of those who follow me_; her eyes hardened to sapphires as she set her smouldering sights on the one she needed to slay; _but there's nothing in the rules to say I can't put myself on the line – Kragok would do the same for me_.

"Retreat", her vice was a foghorn, cutting through the fog of war to guide her dispirited troops, "evacuate the base, aid the wounded". As she shouted, she reached down and snatched up the weapon that had nearly crippled her, never taking her eyes off its owner. She ducked and dodged through the press, running as she'd never run in the past, seeing with vindictive glee the faceless head of the butcher tracking her movement, she set the trap in her head even as she ran through the tunnel the guardian and his allies had emerged from.

XXX

**Theft of weapons – recovery necessary. Repay debt primary objective**.

"Back off", Knuckles took his own advice, hustling backwards a couple of paces as Seraph ceased in motion, not phased by the sudden disappearances of the Legionnaires as each of them gripped their wrist and, if possible, one of their unconscious allies as well and, with a sudden 'whip-crack' noise, were displaced away, somewhere safe from the team of rescuers. Locke had explained the technology in full but the guardian wasn't really interested; gadgets were Tails' speciality, not his – all that metered to him was that, due to their wrist-mounted teleporters, each Legionnaire could automatically transport himself back to the hidden city of Necronopolis and safety. Each was a one-shot affair, but once was enough to get safe and get away. _Now they've left us with the next problem_; the guardian had an idea why Seraph was here, but he was a long way from sure and, even then, the vampire bat's complete alienation to anything rational probably made even certainty uncertain.

"What do you want Seraph?" The bat's head turned to him like a snake might strike and a fraction of a second later, the dead, dry voice that he remembered so well crawled over his skin again, caressing it with a ghoul's touch,

"My debts paid". He stabbed a finger to the passageway to freedom; seeing his motive, Knuckle relaxed slightly and nodded,

"Yeah, it's…"

**Debt repaid and grudge settled. New objective begins.**

The echidna never finished speaking; Seraph went from motionless to flat out sprint, haring away into the semi-darkness where Lien had fled to, Mighty, who was closest, jumping out the way of his charge out of principals. Vector, seeing the freak's movement, made to give chase but Rouge sprang forwards and shook her head, gripping onto his arm,

"No, don't".

"He might…" Vector was, underneath it all, a nice guy; having seen what the black figure could do, he didn't want a single girl to have to deal with it, "she's alone".

"She can escape; she'll have one of those wrist teleporters as well" Locke spoke, restless to be gone as his eyes remained glued to the passageway that led to the front door of the base and, ultimately, to Lara.

"Who…?"

"Not now; Locke's right"; even after this time, Knuckles couldn't quite bring himself to use any other title than his father's name for Locke as he stifled Mighty's question with a hand, "we need to get out of here and then blow this place".

"With him in it?"

"They're not strong enough to level the place, just KO the power and maybe a little structural damage as well" Locke shook his head and set off, not caring for the decisions of the others as he set off, desperate to be reunited with his one-time love. Rouge caught her husband's eye and shivered; _no stopping this now, they deserve an explanation_; she saw her own sour thoughts reflected in the guardian's eye as, well aware of the flaying gazes Mighty and Vector were directing on their backs, both former treasure hunters made to follow the former guardian out of this war zone.

XXX

"Knuckles!" Lara's shout was enough to bring her boy racing; heart exploding with relief and joy, she hammered up to wrap her arms around her son as he reciprocated unreservedly, each echidna whispering promises of relief and affection that softened the hearts of all watching. _This could have been mine_; Locke watched, heart heavy behind his impassive façade as he silently fingered the detonator, seeing out the corner of his eye Wyn in the background, looking as happy as Lara was; _but I let it slip away, because of my own stupidity_. He crushed such feelings again, not showing anything on his face as he turned, raising the small plastic box as he aimed it at the door the victorious Chaotix and guardians had emerged from, imagining a missile aimed right at the heart of the Legion. He hit the activation stud with his thumb hard, a vicious smile on his face as, after a second, muted rumbling from the interior and a complete power outing from the doorway showed the killing of the power irreversibly. He tucked the device away as Lara, stepping back, suddenly exclaimed,

"Oh no, where's the other one?"

"Ah"; _please don't mean who I think you mean mum_; Knuckles had to ask the fatal question; "what other one, we're all here, Charmy never came".

"No, the EST operative", if Lara saw everyone exchange glances she didn't notice, explaining at their bewildered looks, "he let me out and got me a disguise; we made it to the gate by his guiding me; I asked him to come with he, obviously he's lost his cover to rescue me, but he gave me this". She reached into her Dark Legion robes and pulled out a small, round disc. Taking it curiously, Knuckles held it up to the clear moonlight and his heart sank as he recognised the faint outline of the angel's mark; Seraph's calling card, left as part of his rigid adherence to a set of rules that had long since died out. More curiously though, underneath the mark was a name, and a name Knuckles recognised to boot,

"Remington?" He wondered aloud, "what did he owe the EST?"

"Who?" Lara raised her eyebrows as Vector could contain himself no longer,

"The guy who probably just levelled half the Legion an' made it look easy", burdened as he was with Espio's unconscious form, he couldn't gesticulate, but his words alone were convincing enough, "I take it that was the Seraph guy you were on about, but what the hell is, and what's he got to do with you?"

"That's my business", Rouge stepped forwards, eye normally bright eyes mournful as she realised she'd have to come clean now, "it's how Knuckles and I got together, happened a while after the Metal Overlord. I'll explain it all on the way back, but all you need to know for now is that Seraph, the guy who rescued you Lara, is basically dead".

"Really?" Mighty folded her arms, the point not quite sinking in as she couldn't understand it fully, "he's pretty energetic for someone six feet under, don't you think?"

"No, not that kind of dead; emotionally dead", Knuckles corrected for her, elaborating as everyone watched on, "he can't feel anything, at all, for anyone; all he knows are a few old rules the Rouge'll tell you about and he sticks to them like glue. I'm not sure how he got wind of it, but believe me the only reason he stepped in there was because he owed me a favour". Vector goggled, nearly dropping Espio as his jaw fell open,

"He owed, wait a minute", disbelief was tangible as the crocodile stormed on, "he rescues your mother, drops a cluster-bomb on the Legion, wipes out one of its senior members and beats nine bells out of pretty much the rest of it because you helped him out once upon a time?"

"Pretty much", Rouge summed up with a weak smile, "the only thing he cares about is his past; he works by a system of debts and grudges and he will pay them both in full when he has the chance. You just saw that, but believe me, he is an emotionless machine; there's nothing he won't do to get what he needs", her face fell, a small patch of skin on the nape of her neck pinging with pain as she whispered the last words, "he proved that when he put Eggman behind bars".

Silence fell and silence reigned as Knuckles, realising this was far more distressing territory for Rouge than it would ever be for him, gently put his hand on her shoulder, smiling and squeezing softly before turning to the rest of them,

"Come on; we've got a walk ahead of us; we can notify the EST on the way back, get them to sort that place out properly. We'll explain on the way, but believe me it's not a story I want to tell too often".

"Okay Knucks", Wyn was supportive, the gesture a drink of bile for Locke as he realised once more he'd been beaten to the punch albeit unmeaningly, "we've got a load of time now and besides, not like this Seraph character can do anything now is it? After all, he's probably long gone by now; he could be anywhere".

"If what we saw was anything to go by", Mighty gave a smile even as she shivered and looked around, just once to check the shadows, "that's the scariest thing I've heard all day".

XXX

Her overrides were making life easy; in her haste she'd forgotten about the still sealed passages, but the haze of rage had parted just long enough for her to grip onto the codes she needed for emergency overrides, unblocking her path quickly and even as she heard, with a thrill of fear mixed with anticipation, that she was being followed. _Swallowed it hook, line and sinker_; the knife in her hand, survival pattern, standard issue for all Legionnaires unless they found themselves stranded suddenly in the wilderness of the island, was comforting, knowing it would soon find itself plunged into the back of the one who'd dared hurt her brother.

She growled as she saw that second again and again; the sight of Kragok's bloody body on the floor stoking the flames of retribution to a white, searing heat, only the knowledge that she'd seen one of the troopers cut in to trigger her twin's teleport homer granting any succour; he was safe now. _As am I_; she reached the place where she needed to be and quickly slid into the shadows where one of the tunnels was bisected by another, creating a junction, the perfect site for an ambush; _he'll run right past – one stab, that's all it'll take – Dimitri will understand, there are some cases where death should be granted, a crime of love for my brother's wounding_. She silently uncoiled her whip, letting it snaked out by her side, running over what would happen mere seconds from now as the footfalls sounded ever closer. The strange, black suited guy would run past her hiding place, her whip would trip him and then she'd pounce; on top and with a knife, it'd be easy and quick. Part of her screamed not to go through with this, she didn't want blood on her hands, but she quashed it, the memory of Kragok lying near death spurring her on. So she waited in silence, not realising that she had been thwarted in her intentions by one single, simple fact; in the world of the blind, the bats ruled supreme; she hadn't registered the tiny sonic hammers that had been following her the whole way here.

_Now!_; there was a blur in her peripheral vision and like lightning her hand reacted; the whip arced through the air, aiming for her target's feet and she let out a roar of triumph as he fell forwards. She pounced, the knife drawn back, ready to strike, only for joy to turn to horror as, whilst she flew in mid-air, the black figure suddenly flipped over, turning onto his back, seeing her descending and twisting out the way. Lien felt her knife hand caught by the wrist and deflected, her plunging stab missing the target and what felt like a pair of steel cables locked around her waist, hugging her in and constricting, seeking to crush the air from her lungs even as she snarled. He was on his back and down, she was in the stronger position; she flailed with her free hand, trying to strike and divert his attention from the knife she held and was now dragging, inch by inch, clear of the ground, trying to muster a second stab at this black demon. It was a hard fight, and as she felt knuckles gouging her ribs and the muscles that bound her ribcage together, she let out involuntary cries of pain; here, despite the knife, she was being slowly overmatched by someone who knew a lot more about this kind of fighting than she did.

Suddenly now, as her breath came in tortured gasps and pain wormed its way into her furious mind even as her hold on the knife trembled, wrist crushed by the unrelenting grip seeking to exert enough pressure on her tendons to force them open, she saw it; he hadn't fallen, he'd dived forwards, landing on his hands, easily able to flip and catch her like this. _He knew I was coming – he knew the trap_; she looked down through blurry eyes to see what she was enmeshed with; the sight took her resistance away even more than the hand currently crawling up her body, aiming for her throat.

_I'm fighting for my life against something with no eyes_; she saw the mask that passed for the face, the hollow, blank pits where eyeholes should have been reflecting her face, suddenly scared and unsure of her abilities to best this foe, back to her. She gasped again, the unrelenting squeeze on her stomach sides finally finding some purchase as she had to fight harder to preserve her ability to breath. Blood flecked her vision as, far away, a distant, fatalistic part of her courted a mocking question; _I'd love to see how this could get any worse_.

With perfect comic timing, there was a sudden rumbling bang, a shiver through the floor that sent both her and her assailant flying into the air and immediately, the lights went out completely, plunging them both into total darkness.

A/N: Right; any bets who the two foes are? And more importantly, what are they going to be finding out?


	5. Chapter 4 Belated Introductions

Chapter 4 – Belated Introductions.

A/N: Short but important chapter ahead, after reviewers of course:

HHH – Man, you're not having a good year this year are you? My advice; if bird flu turns up, go lock yourself in somewhere airtight over winter. BTW; good guess :-).

Ri2 – Cool yes, eerie, most certainly; hopefully, this story (and the next…oops, you didn't hear that) will let a little more info on the dark angel slip.

DH – Good guy/bad girl – been there, read that far too often. How about bad girl with a bit of a heart/neutral, unfeeling guy? Much more fun. Oh, and as for the motive bit you mentioned, see above…

TH – Uh oh, hyper TH (cast and author backs off; author points and shouts). Don't make me get the flying monkeys again!

To her great-grandfather's undisguised despair, fumbling around in the pitch black with a well-muscled bloke wasn't a situation Lien-Da was unfamiliar with. In fact, it was one she normally enjoyed.

This time, however, was very different to anything that had gone before in several regards.

For one thing, though leather had occasionally been involved in her previous exploits, she had usually been the one wearing it. For quite another, she'd never yet had any kind of bladed instrument involved in her previous close and personal games. Above all, however, though she'd often feared for her innocence as she experimented, she'd never yet been fearful for her life as she was now.

The sudden darkness had shocked her, a small squeak of air escaping her lips that she'd had to fight hard to draw back in as the death hug sought to exhaust her supply of air. If the assassin underneath her had been perturbed by the change in circumstances and lighting levels, he gave no sign; still silent, still fighting his way to freeing himself and still crushing the air from her lungs with the legs that were entwined around her waist. _I'm going to have a bruise there_; she gritted her teeth into a macabre snarl, thinking of Kragok and what this beast had done to him to give her strength in the face of this adversity. Then, from almost directly beneath the fighting pair, the explosion hit with the force of a giant's fist.

That did it; as she felt her body and his lift off the floor, her anger gave way to fear as the bang, amplified by the darkness and all the more terrifying because of it, slammed into her eardrums. She cried out in fear of the unknown, strange weightlessness in the pit of her stomach as, rather than kill, she fought to escape, striking randomly in the darkness that was now spinning all around her, most of her strikes hitting something but failing to do much more than graze her own knuckles; at the acute angle she couldn't get anything behind the punches as the scream of rending, tortured metal filled her ears.

The grip on her wrist suddenly tightened further, the strain more than meeting her breaking point and, with a growl of new fear, Lien felt her hand open against her will. The sound of metal striking metal, the knife clattering away uselessly on the floor somewhere away, filled her ears like a gong tolling for her defeat as suddenly, she felt herself shift, the weightlessness replaced with a feeling of having swallowed a lead balloon. _I'm falling, and I don't know how high I am_; visions of her spine snapping like a twig, the ominous crunch of breaking bone sent a shudder right through her body, panic rather than hate now lending her strength to squirm and twist in the grapple, fighting desperately to get back on top, land on him rather than the other way around even if, disorientated by the darkness now all around, she had no way of knowing which way she should be fighting.

She could have hung in the air, locked in mortal combat with the soundless alien that had broken her closest relation, for mere seconds or timeless eons; however long it was the landing still came as a shock that made her teeth rattle in her skull. She'd landed on her left side, and not as heavily as she could have done due, thankfully, to the fact he still had his legs locked around her and one of them had cushioned her fall. _Now I have to make the most of it – if he gets on top I'm as good as dead_; snarling, somehow drawing more energy and fire from her aching body, the commander of the Dark Legion threw herself upwards and around.

**Noise demonstrates weakened structural integrity. Evacuate immediate area.**

She was successful! The resistance had slackened a little, she could feel him trying to writhe out from under her, the landing must have affected him much worse than her and now, that was her shot. She drew her fist back, feeling the previously unbreakable grip around her waist slough away, just as her ears registered the groaning from a point not very far behind her. _That sounds like…_; even as she formed the answer there was a further crash from much closer and, with another lurch of vertigo, Lien-Da felt the weightlessness clutch at her once more as the floor she was wrestling on gave way completely; together with her foe and a shriek of terror, she plunged downwards into the bowels of the base she had helped to build.

**Evacuation impossible. Ensure stolen weapon recovered.**

XXX

Lien was dead, she knew that; in this place of nightmares, she knew she'd fought her last battle and would fall here. Strangely, rather than outright panic and terror, rage against her fate, her mind was clear as a bell. She wasn't going down alone; she smiled savagely as she realised she could still feel her opponent's grip on her arm, so if she was falling, he had to be as well. _Kragok, rest well – this guy's going dooowww!_

Suddenly a jolt of pain ripped through her shoulder, her hiss of pain measured as her arm caught in some type of protrusion that arrested, but didn't completely stop, her fall. _What?_; the scientist in her was fascinated, even if it had little data to work with – she could feel warmer air on her cheeks and, as the currents shifted, she became aware that she was spinning in small, tight circles; _it's like I'm flying_. Out of instinct she looked up, to see only blackness; in the dark her eyes were not meant to see, but as she did, she became aware of a strange sensation on her face; as if all of her hairs were being individually twanged with a minuscule finger; it was unsettling, but not exactly annoying. Slow, rhythmic flaps echoed the beats of her own heart; she sought to place them in the middle of this strange picture, before with a second scream she fell again, the hold on her arm giving way at last. Even as the sound echoed in the dimness, she impacted on the ground with, not a crack, but rather, with a loud splash.

_Water_; as she flailed to stand up, Lien-Da tried to put together what this meant; there was nowhere in the base that held water of the volume that was, at a rough guess, about enough to submerge her if she lay down. But more worryingly than that, as she stood immobile for a minute, she realised with a thrill that the water level was rising; _the room must be flooding, there's nowhere for the water to go but up!_ Drowning, there was a way to go she really wanted to avoid – the thought of her lungs glowing white hot with pain as she futilely tried to avoid breathing in the surrounding liquid…a chill raced down her spine, panic threatening to break in and take over her mind as she tried to focus on her own breathing, an old technique to let her think logically and clearly in these difficult and deadly circumstances. As her great-grandfather had told her more than once, lose your head, and next you lose your life; _right, the water is rising, but only slowly – I have some time_; there was a small splash and resultant sloshing noise that hastened her thought; _the roof overhead must be unstable, I have to go slowly and carefully_; the sloshing noise continued, even after the impact and if anything grew slightly louder; Lien felt that strange feeling again on her face and heard the noises pause before, inexplicably, they started again, seeming to come…towards her.

Goosebumps prickled her skin, hairs rising all over her body as her clear though made a logical connection; _it's him_. Someone else was down here with her, someone who had attacked her brother and was even now stalking her, seeking to finish what had been started with the Legion. _I'm being hunted_; panic rose again like a startled bird but she wrestled it down, sliding one foot forwards as silently as possibly underwater, getting into the stance she needed to open up, relying on her ears to hear the noises coming; from there it would be down to guesswork and sheer dumb luck. The taps on her skin now felt ominous and alien; it was like being caressed by a ghost or touched by spirits but she didn't let it put her off; her life might depend on getting this next move right. Her nerves, tautened as they were by her brother's pain, her own war with the on who was coming and this sudden near-death experience, pinged and as a suddenly rush threw up spray somewhere close by, they snapped. Spinning, she threw up her leg to catch the incoming charge, seeking to impale her foe on her foot and as she felt contact, she knew it had worked. Until the contact pressed forwards, gripping her extended leg and heaving backwards; off-balance and arms flailing, Lien was helpless to stop herself falling back with a second splash.

She'd held her breath in case her guess had been accurate and, just her luck, it actually was; the water raced over her body, just deep enough to keep her head submerged as she tried to kick free. She felt a hand grip her leg and move downwards, roughly gripping flesh and her eyes widened in fury and fear; _how dare he try…_: she was rolled over, onto her front, the movement displacing water up her nose as she still lashed out with her free foot, hands groping in the water for something she could use as a weapon or a lever to pull forwards. Small bits of detritus floated into her fingers, but nothing of merit; as the hand that was probing her slid under her robes, she jerked both of her own, comparatively feeble, natural weapons back to her, lungs finally beginning to ache as being underwater, with her heart hammering blood all over her body, took its toll on her air supply. She reached back, trying to grip her adversary's violating hand, ashamed to be treated like this and powerless to stop him doing whatever he wanted now when, with a sudden snatch, she felt the progress stop. The fur of her back parted as she felt the hand withdraw, dragging with it the instrument that was raking through her fur, something that, she realised with a start, didn't belong to her.

XXX

**Weapon recovered.**

Jumping away from his prone target, Seraph landed and opened one of his wings, making to slide the recovered knife-stick back into the easy open sheath, just opening the Velcro binding as the Mobian he'd pinned down flung herself to her feet. His keen ears detected sudden heavy breathing, necessary for her body to re-oxygenate itself after their struggle, and sudden, with a hissed hex, she was coming towards him, arm extended quickly.

**Weapon recovered. Obey the code.**

With this in his one-track mind, Seraph did as he was allowed to do by his psyche; with a quick movement, as though flicking a whip, the vampire bat rapped the oncoming fist with the butt of his knife-stick. Judging by the furious curses and shouts of pain that followed, he'd done enough to make his point.

XXX

Lien thrust her aching, throbbing hand into her armpit, the warmth of her own body helping to numb the pain caused by the impact. _Oww, bugger_; it was only when nothing followed the attack up that she glared into the impenetrable blackness as her mind made the connection; _he never attacked until I did_. Even as she thought of this, the example of less than a minute ago flashed back into her head with a vengeance; _he had me pinned and helpless, I was there for the taking and all he did was get back that baton of his_. Slowly, in time with the pulses of pain being delivered in regular shipments from her hand, an idea began to percolate her mind – maybe, for a reason that she both couldn't fathom and didn't particularly care about, he didn't actually want to fight her? It made sense; after all he could have just drowned her then if he'd wanted her dead and, as this idea had the best possible predictions for her, that the professional killer mere metres away wasn't about to strike her down, she grudgingly lowered her guard. For now.

Silence reigned, each apparently trying to sum up what the situation meant now even if neither of them could see in the darkness. Lien thought furiously; somehow she had to get out of this room as the water level was still rising, and then out of this base; she touched her wrist but already knew what the answer would be. Sure enough, the glass casing was broken; the impact of the flying knife-stick had been enough to shatter her teleport homer and even if that hadn't done it, the submerging would have. _We need to make those things water-proof in the future_; she filed that away for future deliberation as the tension mounted, quietness gnawing at her along with another of those strange sensations. Kragok's revenge could wait for a minute; her first priority was to get out of here in one piece and, she grimaced as though biting something sour, there was only one conceivable way she could think of to do that,

"Hey", she felt and heard, rather than saw the answering movement; the slight chafing of leather on leather as the neck of his mask moved to regard her, "you got any light?"

The answer was still more silence, but she knew he couldn't have moved; she hadn't heard any water displaced, so he was exactly where he had been before her fist had been tapped. Lien began to get impatient, the water still saturating her clothes chilled by contact with the air even if it provided the answer for the question of where she was now. There was a sudden clicking noise and, after so long in the dark, she was forced to blink and look away as something suddenly glowed a bright, fiery orange, smouldering like a coal as its light highlighted the matt black leather glove it was held within.

**Vision unable to function in lightless environment. Ambiance necessary to facilitate evacuation from unsound structure.**

This time it was the chemist residing within Lien's academically gifted mind that was impressed; from what she could see, the lighting implement was simply a thin plastic tube with some kind of fragile internal barrier separating two chemical components. A tug on one end had allowed said chemicals to mix together, and the result had been an impressive amount of light being generated from the resultant reaction. Interesting as this was, however, her much more pressing concern was to somehow try and deal with the guy who's silhouette loomed out over the sudden light, the orange playing over the black leather in patterns that reminded her all too ominously of a devil emerging from the bowels of hell. She fought to suppress a shudder; _show no fear – show fear and he'll know he's got the advantage_; and stood up tall, setting her gaze to where she guessed his head was and speaking in a cold factual tone,

"We need to get out of here". There was a slow nod, the lighting filament setting fire to two deep-set, dominant pits that counted as eyes before, just as suddenly as they'd sprung, they were extinguished, the face jerked back into the darkness as, perturbed by his lack of words, she carried on,

"This room houses the main generators, and they've been damaged", the fact that the water she'd been thrown into was warm had proved that fact; the hydro-electric power generated down here had powered the base and provided the necessary hot water simultaneously, "this room will flood soon, the water's rising. We have to get out of here or we might drown". Again the impassive mask flashed in the gleam of the light, he apparently concurred with her logic before, with a slow, deliberate movement, the light source that illuminated this two Mobian conclave wavered in the air; with a rush of barely contained incredulity, Lien watched as it was brought closer to her.

**Light source more efficiently utilised by those unable to compensate for darkness.**

_He's offering this to me?_; once more he'd managed to wrong-foot her; _first he spares my life when I tried to kill him, then he gives me this…now where's he going?_ Her numb fingers snatched at the offered tool all the same; at least with this, she could banish some of her instinctive fear of the dark. She was expecting it to be hot and braced as such, only to feel nothing beyond a pleasant heat that warmed through the chilling water on her hands still; _a virtually heatless, undetectable light supply_; she marvelled at the simplicity of such a device, and the usefulness of it, especially in the field its owner appeared to inhabit. Speaking of whom; it was only when the sloshing noises paused beside her and a hand gripped her, not roughly, not softly, but a grip all the same, that she was jerked back to the present,

"Hey", she ripped her arm away angrily, still not over the events of minutes ago, "what are you doing; we need to get out of here".

"Yes", the voice reminded her of a rasp; a sinister, efficient tool to wear away the nerves of those that heard it, "follow". _So_; she summed up the hidden message in those two simple words; _he thinks he can rattle me by acting macho, like he doesn't have any feelings for me or anything else – okay tough guy, we'll play it your way for now_. After a second's pause, she made her next move,

"Wait", she didn't have to feign incredulity too much; part of her was genuinely curiously, "you can see in this?"

"Yes".

XXX

To say Lien-Da was an unhappy Mobian would be an understatement of mythic proportions; she was cold, wet, knee deep in water, trudging through the remains of what had once been the main generator station of a Dark Legion base that had been built without the permission of Dimitri in the pitch black with only a tiny device emitting about as much light as the average candle to light the way.

And she was holding hands. With the Mobian who had caused all this and, as a final, unforgivable sin, had nearly beaten her twin brother to death.

The only thing that stopped her screaming aloud was the fact that, if she did, she risked shattering this fragile rogue's alliance; she, of course, had plans to do such a thing herself, but not before it suited her, when she had a free shot at this masked freak and could really repay everything he owed to her and her family. She concentrated all her efforts on the little things to keep the stress at bay; trying to guess at which reaction could emit photons of the energy level needed to class as orange or yellow light, attempting to recall the base layout and plot the best, quickest route to the main entrance of the base and, above all, plotting methods by which to get the better of the Mobian who now acted as her eyes. _I think I might need to worm my way in; he's hiding something more than just his face with that mask_; the female echidna gave where she presumed the back of her guide to be located; _a couple of poses, maybe a few hints and I might be able to get through his skin – water breaks rock by lodging in a crack and freezing, that's the way I'll put this cowardly butcher down._

The walked wore on, slow due to the impeding water that was still, ever so slowly creeping up in level; Lien bit down a sigh as she felt it dribble over the hem of her boots and soaked her legs still more thoroughly; _another pair of decent shoes ruined – something else on your account sunshine_. She glared, raising her eyes upwards as though asking for patience, when with a sudden gasp she groped forwards blindly; the grip on her arm had dropped and, well, better the devil you know than the devil you don't, and who knew what was out there now.

"Where are you?" Her voice was a whisper, more anger than fear involved as the answering whisper filtered back through the inky dark before her,

"Door ahead", there was a sudden splash as he moved off, away from her; she raised her coal still further to see his departing shadow, "I shall open it".

"What about me? You just expect me to sit here and wait for you to do whatever it is you're taking your sweet time over?"

"Yes". _Right, now we're getting somewhere_; Lien smiled, happy her face was obfuscated by the lack of light as her previous experiences with men had offered her insight into the psyche of that strange, simple species; _they know their logic is faultless, but you can tie them in knots when you ask for an explanation of it_;

"And just why should I do that? Are you suggesting I'm incompetent?"; _a little inferiority complex as well, just to tug on the heartstrings_;

"I am aware of your capabilities, but you have no choice in the matter". _Ah_; her brow knitted a little, she hadn't quite been expecting that for an answer; _he's got a point there – I move, I get lost and maybe end up stuck in here_. Still, she tried to draw up a bright side from this; the answer had caught her out this time, but it had opened another avenue of attack; he really was a man of few words, so by getting him to talk at every chance she had, she'd be able to chip through his ice-cold front and reach the vulnerable areas hidden by it. _And when we hit that_; she grinned in savage joy as she pictured breaking this sewer skulker up, one little piece at a time; _we start having fun_. And well, now was as good a time as any to start,

"Hey", she shouted into the darkness, "what are you doing?" The raspy reply came back, clipped and clinical as all his previous speech had been,

"Opening the door".

"How, the power's out?"

"Hacking"; _yeah, that'd do it_; she stood still, ignoring the water now lapping around her hips as she mused over what she'd achieved so far; _four words in three seconds isn't a bad start_. It was only when she reran the words back through her head that the importance of one of them stuck out in her head; looking down with terror freezing her in place, she shouted,

"Wait, stop, there's a…" it was too late; there was a blinding white glare and a jolt of pain through her legs; Lien lost all feeling below the waist and, unable to support herself, pitched face first into the waiting waters.

The anti-tamper device was common to most secure doors in the majority of Dark Legion centres of operation; anyone who tried to cut through and rewire the door control panel tripped a switch that sent a very nasty electric pulse right through them, generated separately by the door itself, enough to knock them out or at least stun them. As her head sank below the water, steel dreadlocks dragging her down, Lien felt a stab of irony; _installing those was my idea and look where it landed me_. Her hands touched the bottom of this lake and she pushed up, letting the light source go, straining her neck and back muscles, trying to get at least her nose above water, but no, she couldn't do it – with her legs dead, she didn't have much of a hope of managing that aim. _The water conducted it right to me_; even as she fought to reach air again, trying a few sculling strokes with her hands she found herself thinking of how she'd been hit from all the way over there; _the shock should've put me under, well, in a way it has, but at least I'm not unconscious._ Gathering all her energy into one spring, she pushed hard off the bottom, aiming to take a deep breath if she broke the surface, just about aware that her dreadlocks were being playfully tugged by a strong current from somewhere before, just prior to her great attempt, something seized her by the back of the collar and hauled upwards.

**Proceed following recovery. Obstacle removed from path.**

XXX

As Lien-Da coughed and spluttered, wiping the water from her face and eyes, Seraph stood firm, troubled neither by the effort of holding the echidna upright or bracing himself against the tide of water that was now sweeping out of the room in a miniature river. He'd seen the glare of generated electricity race over his damp over, though the shock hadn't been in the order of magnitude needed to defeat his specially engineered leather, but from the sudden splash and swearing he'd guessed his former target hadn't been as well shielded. It was immaterial now; once she regained the use of her legs, the way would be clear for them both to press on. He felt the echidna struggle and tightened his grip still further; by his estimate and having studied the mechanisms of the doors of this base, based on the shock voltage she'd been exposed to she had at least another three minutes to wait before regaining full motor control of her legs.

"Get the hell off of me!" His supporting grip didn't waver, even when he felt impacts on his armour, more taps than anything else as the Kevlar stopped most of the force reaching him, "I…"

"You can not stand".

XXX

_Good point_; she had to concede that one as, with pins and needles spearing every neurone she had below the level of her waist, life gradually, grudgingly, trickled back down to the tips of her toes. With it came an odd feeling;' the hem of her robes was being rushed along by water, the tide pulling the material with it as it raced away; that fact coupled with the slight rushing noise she could hear allowed her to conclude that, though he'd tripped the safety switch doing it, her partner of convenience for the moment had managed to get the door open. Wincing, she tried to curl her toes and fight down the resulting wave of painful nerve stings; the ramrod stiff grip still applied to her collar not letting up in the slightest as she fought to control her feet once more, feeling strangely like a piece of washing flapping on the line.

"Right", gingerly she shifted her legs back to where they needed to be, "I think I can manage". Slowly reacting to her words, the weight bearing hold dropped lower, slowly releasing her body back to the floor, the transfer smooth and gradual, pausing fractionally at every stage to ensure she was comfortable with the new increments of weight. Finally, the hand withdrew completely and, shucking her shoulders, Lien straightened her again sodden clothes and scowled,

"Great, drenched again and now I'm blind as a bat…"

**Technically incorrect; bats have visual capacity but utilise sonar navigation in the darkness.**

"…so, get me to the door". She half-expected him to ask for, or demand, a please with that – she knew she'd have no hesitation had the roles been reversed, reinforcing the fact that she was in the stronger position but no, the alien hand touched her arm again and, aside from the occasional puddle, the duo emerged from the main generator room, if not good friends, at least refraining from ripping apart each other's throats, for the moment at least.

XXX

"We need to head upwards", Lien stated as she retrieved the glow stick from where it had been swept into a puddle of water, the orange glow giving the location of their only light source away, "we follow this corridor to it's end and then head right for three; there's a lift shaft there we can shin up".

"No", she span around, angry at being contradicted in her own base and saying as much angrily,

"Oh, and you know the way out better than me do you?" For the third time, the mask burst into fiery flames, the time a burning arm sweeping out to point the opposite way to her intended route; trying to force the cogs to turn, Lien tried to remember what was down that way but, shaking her head, she couldn't. _Still, might be an advantage_; her quick mind hit on something positive through the fog; _if he gets it wrong, I can go in through the mockery channel_.

"Fine", her face twisted into an ugly sneer, as though trifling things such as directions were beneath her, "lead on then; you know where we're going from here; what, don't you trust me?" She tried, and succeeded, in looking innocently coy and sharkily disrespectful simultaneously as an arm pointed to a spot by the side of its owner. The mask leant forwards,

"You have the light".

"Oh yeah", she looked at the glow-stick as though a new sun had been born in her palm, "I never realised that before, but anyway, according to you, you can see in the dark, so why do you need it there?"

"I can see", his arm didn't waver as his eyes turned to meet hers; for the first time Lien felt a little uncomfortable talking to this guy; _I didn't think he could hold that creepy tone this long – like he doesn't care about anything – he's a good actor, maybe as good as I am_; "you can not; guiding you reduces my combat effectiveness".

"You expect someone to jump us, down here?" She folded her arms triumphantly, "newsflash biker-boy; there's no-one here but us".

"Exactly".

There wasn't really an answer to that; as Lien figured out what he meant she scowled and spat on the floor near his feet, bristling at being caught out even as she slowly moved into position alongside her hated team-mate. It was only as they began moving that an idea clicked on in her mind,

"Just a minute", she turned to regard him, the Mobian with no face and, at the minute, no name she knew of, "I can think of a few titles, but what's your name?"

**No disadvantage revealing that information. Identity protected by numerous safeguards.**

For a second she'd thought he wouldn't answer; if he didn't this was a tempting lure to bite at, but then, just fractionally, his head lowered,

"Seraph". _Some kind of angel you are_; Lien chuckled, the sound echoing in the steel tunnel, the noise driving deeper under his skin and forcing the crack she needed to make a break,

"What is that, some kind of code for something? That what your boss calls you? Your friends – like you'd have friends? I bet the closest you've ever come to getting friendly with someone was rifling their private paperwork before you stuck a knife in their back".

**Incorrect statement. No code or boss involved. Private paperwork used only to gain information. All relationships professional only.**

He didn't react, merely standing there, not moving a muscle, somehow soaking up her scorn without trace; Lien found a flicker of admiration lighting up in mind; _that sort of thing would have had Kragok up the wall by now. Kragok…_; the sight cleared her mind, crushed the spark – she'd never admire this freak of nature, not after what he'd done. Silence, brooding and heavy, fell once more as, in concert, the pace slow as she tried to drop behind him unnoticed and he fell back accordingly to deny her the opportunity. The first steps towards liberty had been taken, but if one of these two had their way, only one pair of feet would make it to the finish line in one piece.

A/N: And what challenges await these two in the future… Oh, just in case anyone's interested in why Kragok was a target, I suggest you read the prologue again, bearing in mind what's been revealed up until now. Remember the code; do unto others as had been done unto you.


	6. Chapter 5 Know your Foe

Chapter 5 – Know your Foe.

A/N: Reviewers ahoy:

HHH – The flu and PE – never a good combo. Mind you, if your PE teachers are anything like mine were, you'd have been out there running lengths unless you had anything short of the plague!

DH – Nice way of summing up Lien's character, but still wrong on a couple of points; hopefully you (and Lien for that matter), will be able to see them come a few more chapters.

Looking up before her, Lien scowled as she was forced to dine upon a fat wedge of poisonous humble pie; she'd forgotten about these specific access stairs due to the fact she never used them, not when there was a perfectly serviceable elevator that covered the same distance with no effort. Swallowing the last crumbs, she turned to look at her hated friend in the circumstances, still confident she had a foothold to work with here,

"Well, it was a good idea, flawed in one tiny detail only", the mask turned to regard her as she pointed bitterly, "the fact that, with the power down completely, the doors are sealed and we can't even hope to open them".

"Incorrect"; the voice she was beginning to loathe dripping into her head like oil, making her ears gag as, with a slow movement and a crinkling, metallic noise, Seraph removed something from his belt and stepped forwards; she thought about pouncing on his back and trying to strangle him now but thought better of it; _he could throw me off and from there on in it'd be painful_. She settled for her fallback idea; keep the silent angel talking, make him open up and expose potential vulnerabilities she could have a go at,

"What is that?" She pointed at the small green can as he carefully held it to the hinges of the door and, with a tilt and small glugging noise, something was administered,

"Oil; brand name WD40"; the response was a factual statement rather than an engaging topic, defeating and frustrating her again; she tried to strike up a conversation but kept running into brick walls every step of the way. He was refusing to talk with her, preventing her identifying an emotional weakness on his part. Anger resurfacing momentarily, she strode forwards and grabbed one of the handles, tugging and, to her surprise, feeling the sealed entrance give a little way.

"Hey, get over here and lend a hand Seraph", she flipped her still wet hair out of her eyes as she continued, "I'm not doing all the hard work on my own". She set her feet in the floor and, with a hissed exclamation of effort, set her back to opening the stubborn door.

**Danger.**

_It's coming_; she allowed herself the first hints of a triumphant grin as, with a squeak of metal door on metal floor, the resistance to her pull lessened and the door began to creak open. She braced to put a hint more effort behind it when she was knocked flying, something jumping into her from the darkness, taking her to the floor. The light source rolled away, knocked out of her shocked hand, casting an eerie radiance on the scene as out of sheer instinct alone she fought to free herself; _treachery, but why?_ She growled, kicking as his voice, still as soft and sharp as ever, hissed from the darkness just ahead of her,

"Struggle and die". _What_; the words made no sense – if she struggled, he had less of a chance of killing her,

"Want me to sit here while you strangle me; sorry, it ain't happening"; she made to carry on fighting but found her wrists clamped in twin iron restraints, her legs likewise held down by his bodyweight; she tasted warm breath on her lips and twisted her head aside, revolted he was that close to her, leaning over her; she was awaiting the rank taste of his tongue on hers as he took his pleasure before finishing her off,

"Wait there; move and risk death". The words were more ingested that heard, but as there was equally no lie and no truth in the colourless tone, and gradually the grip pinning her down was lessening a little, she decided to, if not trust him outright, hear his reasons for the unprovoked attack; _if nothing else, watching him worm his way out of this'll be interesting_. Heart pounding with shock, she rolled her eyes, tracking his movement with her ears, watching as the light on the floor was stifled for an instant before being rekindled, held before her attacker as he paced towards the door again. She squinted; at this distance it was hard to pick anything out, but as he cautiously extended the heatless chemical fire, she began to pick something out in the gloom. _A creeper_; for a second she was confused; there were no plants like that in the base, not that could have grown so soon after the power went down, when with a gasp and increase in her pulse, she saw just how close to the edge she had come.

Dangling down, swaying gently backwards and forwards through the gap she had opened in the door, was a power cable. An exposed, moving, potentially lethal power cable.

_The blast from the generators must have increased the water pressure_; her mind went into overdrive as she sought to explain this, reason it through to slow down the onset of shock; _the racing water must have jolted the cables, they were wired in hastily and now, because of that, some of them must be loose, and live_. Though there was no power flowing through them any more, Lien wasn't about to underestimate basic physics; the cables still probably contained enough static electricity, held unearthed within the vulcanised rubber sheath, to do serious damage to anything that touched them. _I was on the floor, in soaking clothes_; cold dread seeped from her blood to her bones, making her feel strangely, almost euphorically high as she realised she'd just been snatched from the jaws of death; _that could have grazed me in the dark; touched my hand or arm – I'd be dead without even knowing what killed me._ The euphoria of her narrow escape fled, chased away by sudden fear for her life, put into a new perspective as she ran this narrow escape over in her head; she was basically alone in an unsafe base, full of electricity and, on this level at least, still puddles of conductive water, in wet clothes and with only the Mobian who had put her brother in intensive care and probably had her pencilled in as his next victim for company.

She didn't cry, or ask for help; weak people would break down, but Lien-Da was not weak, would never tolerate anyone calling her weak – she'd been through a lot to get where she was now, and a position of her responsibility required a certain amount of inner steel. This will strengthened her now, let her stand of her own accord as she nodded at the darkness that still coiled around Seraph like an attentive pet serpent.

"You saved my life";_ don't think him – he's not showing anything yet, so I've got to be at least as cool as he is to try and trap him later_; "why?"

"Harm not the innocent".

Well, so much for the not showing anything bit.

At those words, as if it had been waiting for an opportunity like this all along, Lien felt hysteria grip her unopposably; sheer, unadulterated mirth bubbled through her bloodstream as a small snicker broke through her lips. She had to bite down, try to delay this reaction to stress even as she knew it was a hopeless battle; those words, in that same absolute deadpan voice, were running in her head over and over, each one torturing her a little more until, inevitably, she cracked up helplessly, slumping against the walls as laughter came screaming out of her. _Better than breaking down crying I guess_; in the small part of her mind that was left to think, she had to agree with herself as she was consumed hopelessly; her streaming eyes rolled over to where the now-blurred light source was and she pointed a shaking finger at the highlighted areas of Seraph's leather,

"I'm ahahaha, I'm a lot of thihihings Seraph", she slapped the floor with her free, unpointing hand as she felt herself begin to topple onto her back, "b,but I'm not innocehehehehent!" His reaction, or more accurately lack of reaction, somehow shattered her again and she fell onto her back, giggling madly as all the worries she'd been exposed to recently just let themselves out in the rush of laughter.

XXX

**Method of stress relief. Escape must be paused until innocent recovered.**

Understand what she was doing even if it was impossible for him to conceive of doing such a thing himself, the vampire bat left the echidna to her own, noisy devices for a while whilst he set about finishing the task she had started. Carefully using one of his knife-sticks to hold the potentially live wire out the way, Seraph used his other hand to lever open the other door, the one furthest away from the dangling wire. As he worked, he kept his ears open in case the laughter changed pitch; he knew she probably wanted him dead and was intelligent enough to use any advantage that came her way to gain such vengeance. However, soon it wouldn't matter; he bore her no grudge and, once they had left this place, he would be able to leave and never see this innocent again.

XXX

Finally, when air would once more remain in her aching lungs, Lien sat back up with an audible groan, a last few giggles displaced by the movement and rattling up her trachea as she felt a bit more like herself and, she noted, more hasty to be gone from this place. Though not before giving the still-silent partner a bit of a verbal poke,

"Hey, Mr Military", her tone was still scornful, but lacked the bite of her earlier comments due to her exhaustion from laughing so hard, "lighten up; you can laugh you know, you won't crack". Seraph leant down and, in answer it seemed, gestured the knife-stick he now held at the portal he'd managed to open; sighing, she got to her feet as his sense of humour failed him. In fact, as she walked past, lingering effects of the hysteria finally beginning to exit from her system, she felt the hairs on her back prickle as she squeezed herself in tight to the open doorframe, hugging the metal at her back to give as much distance as possible between the still dangling power cable and her body, faint doubts began to nag the back of her mind. _He's still going with the heartless approach_; she mulled it over as she heard rather than saw him come through behind her; _is it…nah, it's not – no-one could be like that all the time, they'd never survive in life. He's just still trying to keep this professional – I have to get in there and stop this._

She paused, intrigued by this new angle; he was keeping her at arms-length, now what could that mean? He was after her, there was no disputing that and to hell with all his talk of innocents, but apparently he needed her alive; if he didn't he could have let her fry in the power line. Was it possible he was actually afraid of her? Or, more accurately, afraid of getting close to her, in case it put his ability to finish her off in jeopardy? Now that was a thought, and a promising one at that; _I can't talk to him verbally, he's not letting me close enough_; she licked her lips slyly, an idea in her mind now as she felt the toe of her boot touch the first of the stairs; _but body language can be a much more direct form of communication._

XXX

"Hand me the light a minute"; one detail of base layout came back to her mind and she seized it, as much to smokescreen her intentions as actually find something interesting out. The silent spectre behind her acquiesced, holding out the glowing tube that she duly snatched up and held high, searching for the enamelled map that should have been posted at the side of the stairwell. _Gotcha, here we go_; joyously re-familiarising herself with the map of this place, she noticed something with interest and the potential to make a really bad situation that little bit better.

The map had no labels; the Legion didn't want to give out a free layout of the base to anyone who managed to break into it. The different areas were colour coded to a pattern only the Legionnaires knew; this allowed them and no-one else to follow the maps and get where they needed to be. The main entrance was only a floor up; due to the small size of this particular base, it only had three floors to begin with; the basement held the generators and main storage supplies, the ground floor was where the main assembly room, the barracks for the troops and other necessities for active life were found while above that, on the smallest of the three floors, were the officer's quarters, war room and a couple of small laser batteries to ward off unwanted attention from the air. However, Lien's eyes had found something interesting out; the stairs she was on now were right at the rear of the base, so by going up them she'd have to go through the whole place to get to the front door. And that meant going through the big red patch, where something she wanted very badly could be found. Seeing this and cheered by it immensely, the echidna turned back to her assassin and went for phase two of her plan.

"Right, there's only one flight of stairs on this well; this'll get us to the ground floor. From there I can get us out". He nodded, his perennial gesture it seemed, before she crossed her fingers and, putting on a look of apprehension, she gestured at the unseen stairs ahead of her and spoke in a doubtful tone,

"Not sure it's safe to walk up there in the dark", suddenly the 'idea' struck her and she looked at him directly, "we'll get there faster if you carry me; you said you can see in the dark after all".

**Statement correct in essence if not technically; echo-location differs from conventional vision. **

Her next move depended on what he did next; if he refused, she'd be able to conclude there was something he wanted to hide and, on the basis of that logic, would be able to engineer other situations where close contact would be necessary – Lien had sworn, in the second she'd seen what this thing had done to Kragok, that she'd sink to any low necessary to bring him down. If he accepted, well then so much the better; it meant she could get started right away on bringing the big guns to bear on his cold-as-ice image. _Well, the ball's in your court now – let's see what you do with it_. Seraph appeared to be paused for a minute, making up his mind, before suddenly standing erect and nodding once more.

XXX

_Not quite what I had in mind_; Lien raved silently as she suddenly found herself slung over the same shoulder that had, unbeknownst to her, recently borne Lara-Le's weight also. She felt her feet leave the floor and a sudden sense of vertigo as Seraph straightened, apparently unperturbed by the extra weight as Lien felt her stomach muscles juddered by the shock of him walking up the stairs carefully, taking his time to navigate his way upwards without risking a trip. _So much for that great idea;_ she huffed bad-temperedly as she considered her situation now; she was close to him, but this position wasn't the best way she could think of to try and break the ice. Registering the strain of holding herself upright over his shoulder, she gave in and flopped down, hands trailing uselessly over the back of his leather body suit, until, she snatched them back, horridly fascinated by what had just been transmitted from her fingertips. That hadn't been leather she'd felt just then – halfway down his back was something else, something that didn't feel like any material she'd ever heard of. Quietly and softly, she slid her hand back down along the curve of this strange monster's back, the leather shiny and smooth beneath her fingers. _There_; she felt the strange substance again and this time, didn't jerk away immediately; rather, she bit the glove off her free hand and, exposing her fingers, let that travel down to stand parallel with the gloved hand that had located this substance. She touched it, not really sure what to expect, but the first thing she realised was that it was fuzzy, a faint sensation that her gloves had blocked from her hands; _velvet maybe – no, too thick, and, what the heck are these underneath it?_ Her hand traced the outline of something hard and thick nestled beneath the material and her confusion grew; he was holding the light source ahead on him as he needed it far more than she did, but deprived of its light she had no choice but to rely on other senses to try and work out this component of her opponent's armour. _So, it's fuzzy, thinner at one end than the other and has something under it, and, wait a sec_; something else was there, it was cooler than the leather surrounding it, but that wasn't right, it should have been the same temperature, unless it had some way of making itself cool.

"Seraph, what the hell is this on your back?" She doubted he'd tell her, but she could hope; in fact, she was so keen on waiting for the words to come back to her that she nearly missed the material under her fingers moving; it was only when she realised she had moved her fingers to keep up that she realised it had twitched; that movement let her understand what she was actually touching.

It wasn't material at all. It was skin.

XXX

Seraph didn't feel annoyance, or anger, or in fact any emotions as normal people could understand them; he'd registered touches on one of his wings, but as they were not impairing his combat readiness he didn't bother with them. Similarly all he registered when the innocent over his shoulder started struggling was an increase in the delay for getting out of this unsafe structure. Seeking to reduce the delay, he clamped his supporting arm around the innocent more firmly, stifling her struggles as her voice shouted,

"Oh that's disgusting; put me down, put me down now; I do not want to be close to that…urgh, skin!"

**Unfeasible to release innocent. Ground still uneven – risk of falling exceeding acceptable levels.**

Unable to countenance putting the echidna down, he merely carried on until he felt impacts on his back; most of them were absorbed by the armour, but one of them reduced his efficiency as it landed on his wing.

**Grudge of pain owed. Grudge settled.**

XXX

Something like a steel bar shot into one of her calves and she gasped, ceasing her struggles for freedom in the light of the pain. After a second it relented, letting her think again; _that hurt, but why did he hurt me in the first place. I was hitting him, was he just retaliating?_ Her scientific mind quickly planned an experiment and, bracing herself, she brought her hand down on one of those patches of skin again.

**Grudge of pain owed. Grudge settled.**

When the pain subsided, she was left with mixed feelings; for a start she was reasonably sure that, as long as she didn't make any aggressive moves against him, he wasn't going to attack her – kind of a live and let live policy on his part. Secondly, disgusting as it was, it appeared that his armour didn't cover all of him; there was a weak spot she'd be a mug not to strike at when the time came. _So, when I get the chance, I need to make sure I put him down cleanly – if he gets to strike back I've not got a chance against him_; with that in mind, and remembering he hadn't complained when she'd just been touching, she returned to her previous work, trying to see what was going on with this strange thing, thinking back to try and recall anything that might explain this patch of exposed fur. Nothing was there though, and she didn't have long to dwell on it anyway; with a sudden jolt, Seraph slewed to a halt and bent; she settled back to her feet as she felt his hold on her relinquish. Once down, she disguised her thoughts behind a brisk, business tone,

"Good, we made it at last", she favoured him with a venomous glare that, once more, his impassive mask swallowed whole without a ripple, without a trace of lingering feeling, "we need to get out this way, but we're making a stop at the barracks first".

"Reason?"

"I'm sick of blundering about in the dark"; _just for once Kragok, I have to admit sticking to the rules paid off_; "there are a few flashlights there and we can use them until we get out of here. Happy with that?"

**Immaterial. Efficiency unaffected by light levels. Innocent requires elevated light levels. Resistance increases delay – reply in the affirmative.**

His head nodded and she smiled, satisfied at finally getting one over on her personal demon as she held out a hand, stating,

"There might be more of those power cables down; you'll have to look out for them. Now, we need to get to the barracks".

**Route known. Decrease delay.**

Without a second thought, Seraph obeyed the logic behind his reasoning; Lien didn't have time to say much more before she was suddenly back over his shoulder and going a lot faster than before. Such was her shock of being treated like this she didn't even have the time to muster a protest before he pulled to a stop.

"Lines down; remain motionless". Despite all the reasons she had for hating the Mobian holding her, fear of death convinced the echidna to follow his instructions, just this once. Unfortunately, as she tried to compress into his body, making her frame as small as possible on his, she rolled a hand over the skin underneath her; as something rolled under her fingertip she cringed, her flesh creeping away as a shudder ran through her; _urgh, that was a tendon, I felt that…_;

"Ahh"; from virtually motionless to full speed he'd gone, dragging her with him as he raced further into the darkness. A little embarrassed by her unnecessary panicked shout, Lien twisted her head over her shoulder to see the light ahead wavering erratically as Seraph ran. Uncaring and drowning her fear in anger, she demanded,

"A little warning next time, before you take off like that?"

**Flight unnecessary. Risk of damage to wings exceeding safe limit as structure is unsafe. Destination close – decrease velocity.**

He didn't answer, but as she felt the vibrations transmitted to her body lessen, she realised he was slowing down. Bracing herself for the stop, Lien allowed him to lower her to the floor before snatching back the light source and snarling,

"Great, now where are we?"

"Barracks".

"Really?" She looked around, the light playing off the bare walls as she put her hands on her hips, smirking as she pounced on his error, "never seen a barracks like this before; no bunks, no chests, no porno mags; are you sure we're in the right place?" Seraph's hand extended, the fist clenched; for a split-second she feared he'd hit her before a single digit extended, pointing the way a little further forwards,

"The entrance is there".

In the future Lien-Da would never know exactly why it was at this second her nerves finally gave way; she could only ever say that, for some reason, they simply did – thrusting her face forwards, the echidna unwisely let her petulance get the better of her,

"Will you stop that?" She couldn't tell if he'd understood or not, so she assumed he hadn't and explained, refraining from stamping her foot with great difficulty, "that tone you're using, in fact the whole I-care-about-nothing-because-I'm-an-emotionless-machine thing you seem to take pleasure in. Stop talking like you've had your vocal chords cut out; I am a living creature, not a robot – I have the mental capacity to understand emotions. You can talk to me normally; it's not that difficult – try and add a little lightness to your tone, it works wonders. I have to put up with you, I don't need your bad attitude stinking things up any further – for the love of anyone who dwells above, just act normal!"

**No disguise adopted. No extenuating circumstances dictating events – complaint invalid.**

She settled back, a little exhausted as she waited for his response, his outline visible in the glow of their light; she was expecting him to talk back to her, probably in that same monotone just to get under her skin, or he'd go completely silent. What she did not expect, what froze the very marrow in her bones, was when, perhaps unconsciously, his head cocked to the side almost as though trying to recall something, trying to figure something out he couldn't quite see. _Oh God no_; she tried her damndest to disbelieve what she though she was seeing; after all, it was still dark and she couldn't read his face through the leather mask he still wore, but all the same she couldn't quite quash her first, gut instinct from his slight reaction; _I don't think he's faking this._ She had to shake her head, refusing the evidence for now because, lord help her, if that really was the case and he was like this, then all her best-laid schemes were going to amount to precisely nothing.

She was caught up in her thoughts that, when she looked to try and affirm her reasoning, only then did she realise he wasn't there any more.

"Hey", she saw the light further down the corridor and snapped off her question, "what are you doing…no, forget it", she saw him crouched at the door and immediately guessed what he was up to; as everything below her waist tingled with renewed vigour she made up her mind, "I'm doing that, I know how the damn shocker works; last thing I need now is to walk out of here looking like someone stuck a voltage cable in my hair". She strode up to the door and thrust out a hand, all scheming and ideas temporarily suspended while she sorted out this problem and got hold of the light she wanted so much.

**Information revealed Lien-Da gifted with technological anomalies. Logical to reduce delay and avoid risking efficiency impairment.**

She wasn't quite sure what he was going to do now; so far pretty much everything he'd done defied anything she'd managed to glean from her delving into the male psyche. Slowly, however, he stood to his full height and moved soundlessly to the side, gesturing to the locked door, letting her sneak in an attack,

"And how do you expect me to work with no tools?" She shook her hand a little more, beckoning with her fingers, "hand them over; I know you've got something from that fiasco downstairs". He nodded, a sight that was really beginning to get on her nerves before he reached into his belt, raising his hand a second later and offering something small and oblong towards her with hissed instructions,

"Hold away from you; press the stud". Regarding the small box and accepting the small light stick with her other hand, she knelt down and, after making sure this strange thing was aimed well away from her, she thumbed the slight bump she could feel on one end of it.

What shot out the other end nearly made her drop the whole contraption; sliding smoothly out the other end came a blade, even in this light she could tell it was about as long as her finger, narrow and sharper than the average razor. _A knife_; she was fascinated, turning the blade over, the red light gleaming dully off the polished metal, the illusion of blood dripping down the handle intoxicating as Lien found her knuckles whitening on the grip; _blood, blood like my brothers, blood of his killer – I can do it, here and now_; she shook her head, the gore besmirching the knife once more just reflected light as her thirst for vengeance was knocked back, defeated by bitter but still unsullied logic; _he wouldn't have given me this if he didn't think he couldn't take it off me if he needed to. Come on girl – planned revenge is more important, and a heck of a lot safer, than quick revenge._

"I see", she spoke to paper over the lengthening silence, "what kind of knife is this; it's from the world below right?"

"A Spyder, and yes"; the reply was clipped and to the point as always, the tone slitting through her resistance almost as easily as the knife cut through the first of many tiny wires, Lien shrugging off the brooding presence behind her to focus on the task in hand.

XXX

**Primary priority – recover weapon.**

Seraph watched as the echidna stood up, tensed for action in case she attempted to attack him; though she was an innocent and thus immaterial to him, he was allowed by the code to defend himself should the situation demand it.

"Knife; retract the blade"; he held out his hand, ready to move it in any direction should she attempt to slash or thrust the exposed limb; his shielded eyes tracked her every movement as she turned to face him; the look on her face said that, though tempted to attack, she was intelligent enough to avoid becoming a target for his attentions.

"Fine", with one fluid movement she gently pressed the point of the Spyder against the steel door, the pressure mounting until, with a faint click, it retracted back into the sheath and she tossed it towards him casually, "nice piece of kit that; you have to tell me your supplier. Anyway, right now", she leant forwards, one of her legs pistoning backwards to slam into the door; it flew open with a crash, as she finished, "let's shed a bit more light on the situation shall we?"

XXX

She didn't need the glow-stick this time; she knew the layout of these barracks as well as she knew the structure of the steel implants that crowned her own brow. Swiftly feeling for the small box just to the side of the door, grafted there for easy access; she quickly unclipped the front of it with one motion and heard the front fall open – before it had even banged against the wall she'd plunged her grip inside, scrabbling for the familiar bulky shape that, with a hiss of unconcealed triumph, she ripped out the flashlight and hugged it tight; finally she would be unfettered by this hateful blackness. _And now_; she placed her thumb atop the switch that would turn on the light beam; _let's get a proper look at who I'm dealing with here_. With that, she quickly threw herself into the doorway, pointed the beam forwards and pressed the button down.

XXX

Silhouetted in the glare, Seraph was untroubled by the light as his mask acted like a pair of sunglasses; photo-reactive chemicals immediately darkening at exposure to the emitted photons and protecting his vision. Regarding the figure ahead of him, the vampire bat folded his arms, already anticipating her reaction and not disappointed by it; he knew by his calculated studies of what could be considered a 'normal' mind that his profile would send unconscious fear through potential opponents; a necessary advantage in the course of paying off his past as well as providing camouflage in the lightless conditions he preferred to operate under. He expected the innocent to display fear and unconscious loathing and they were present in her face, at least they were until her beam moved downwards, to where parts of his now defunct disguise, not removed as they had not impeded his efficiency, were still present.

XXX

_Right_; despite herself she was a little rattled by the sight ahead of her; though she knew rationally the flesh and blood Seraph could never be as outright terrifying as the figment of her mind the darkness and previous conversations had aided in creating, he was still an imposing, threatening sight. His leather armour reflected the light dully, the obsidian material gleaming in the flashlight's sudden glare; he hadn't flinched, even when she'd shone the light right in what counted as his face, he hadn't made any attempt to shield his eyes even after prolonged periods in the dark. _That should have made him blink in the least_; the lack of reaction didn't fool her though – once bitten twice shy in underestimating this guy. Quickly tracing the beam down his body, actually wanting to see his back more than anything, find out why there was a hole in his otherwise unbreached suit, something winked back, standing out from the black material like Kragok at a beauty pageant.

_What, how did that…I should have seen_; the answers fled her mind at the same time the questions filled it; how could she not have drawn the dots earlier? How had something that stood out that badly have been missed, even in the dark with only something akin to a candle to light it, she should have been able to pick that out. He'd known the way here better than even she had, he'd run her to the barracks, she hadn't even needed to offer directions; the question of how he knew his way around what was supposed to be a secret facility, even to the majority of the Dark Legion, had nibbled the back of her mind even if she'd not actually acknowledged it, having more pressing things on her mind. Now though, that question came back, and back with a vengeance as under the beam of her flashlight, the answer stood out.

The left hand of his suit was covered by a glove that, though stained, had at one stage been a spotless, shining white.

XXX

"You", the flashlight wavered as she suddenly trembled; _I was within strangling distance of this guy for weeks – I damn near threw myself at him – he could have left me for dead for so long_; "you infiltrated us?"

**No disadvantage in disclosing that information.**

"Yes". _He did – he was here the whole time, he just acted like one of us and we swallowed the fake acting whole_; furious that this snake had managed to wriggle into the Dark Legion in the first place and deeply shocked at how close she'd come to suffering at his hands even before today, she demanded he tell her, simply needed to know,

"Why? Who do you work for?" Terrifying visions of the inner working of the Dark Legion, the location of Necronopolis, their weaknesses, next planned moves and, perhaps most worryingly of all, the knowledge that they were not immune to infiltration being sold on made her shudder, even more so when she realised she and Kragok would quite rightly be held responsible.

"Are you with the guardians?" _He's gotta be, he helped Knuckles, the current guardian, out of that trap – oh if he tells the Brotherhood how we work and Dimitri gets wind of it my life won't be worth living_. To her immense relief, though the terror hadn't quite dissipated, he shook his head in answer; he might have wanted to speak then, but she overrode him,

"The EST?" Again, he shook his head and the inevitable conclusion slapped her in the face; _he's a freelancer – he'll put the info up for sale to the highest bidder. That's survivable, maybe I can scrape together some cash and put in enough to convince him to keep his mouth shut_; her first priority was to ensure the Legion's safety – only when that was secure would she let herself consider the other baffling questions that plagued her,

"Right, so you know about us; listen what do you want here?" He regarded her, mask inexpressive as always and she pressed on, a tinge of desperation flavouring her tone as she realised that, if this fell through, her great-grandfather was going to make what had happened to Kragok look like a graze when he got his hands on her, "Money? Contacts – I can get it; I can make sure you get whatever the hell it is you want".

**Not possible. Reasons for offer as yet unconfirmed – innocent is fearful of some circumstances as yet unclear.**

Lien watched on; she had his attention, she was sure of that even if he hadn't moved; _now all I can do is pray_; crossing every finger and toe, she made her make-or-break deal,

"All you have to do is forget you were ever here; technically, this place doesn't exist and none of this ever happened. Just keep your mouth shut about everything you saw and…"

**Not possible. Information already utilised to settle debt to Echidnopolis Security Team**.

_Oh no_; she saw his head shake and goosebumps rose all over her skin; still she clung to a vestige of hope, maybe he was going to say she'd never have enough money or power; _believe me I can get it – I'll get whatever it takes to keep this quiet_; but then his voice, hateful and needling as always, cut through her ears,

"Information already disseminated to recipient". The tongue had frozen with the rest of her; it took a lot of effort to form the next, single word, a dry, anxious squeak,

"Who?"

**Time scale calculated; no risk of information being intercepted. No risk discerning recipient of information.**

"Remington". _Oh Christ, the EST_.

Lien's world came crashing down around her ears; almost single-handedly, this maniac in black leather had turned a perfectly planned and prepared trap for the guardian and his followers into the Legion's worst set-back since the Bloodstone had been sundered and, unknown to the vast majority of Angel Island's population, Dimitri transformed into Enerjak. And it was more or less mostly her fault.

XXX

To her credit Lien didn't faint, or fall to her knees, or anything that amateur-dramatic; she shut her eyes and slowly, ever so slowly, counted to ten; what had happened had happened, there was no way to stop it now – it was her duty to get back to Necronopolis and, through it would probably cost her rank, dignity and possibly a near-fatal spanking, inform her great-grandfather of this latest unpleasant twist. This thought, though, was sullied by two related influences; firstly came the abject misery that she was the one this would impact on most and, for once, it hadn't been entirely her own fault – no-one could have predicted things would have turned out this badly. Secondly, and as her heart smouldered again more convincingly, was the latest in a long list of reasons to hate the Mobian stood in front of her.

As she looked up at him again, her burning eyes seemed to pick out every tiny thing that had ever bugged her in the few hours she'd known this Mobian existed. His complete impassiveness, the absence of a sense of humour, the way he'd almost mockingly overpowered her twice, even when she'd had the advantage of a knife in the first instance and, she gritted her teeth, willing him to die like never before, the way that, if she'd been a little more persistent in her earlier efforts, she might have been able to uncover who he was before things had escalated this much. _You have no idea how much I want you dead_; she growled in the darkness, the sound reverberating through the base as if her very voice could rattle him enough, make him show a flicker of doubt of his own abilities, yet still he stood there, monolithic, unperturbed by her naked aggression as he voice box managed to coerce some air to pass though it, grating the works with anger so thick they should have burned like magma,

"And why", her hands were fists, the nails on her still ungloved paw cutting into her palm, so tight was her grip, "did you do that?"

"Repayment of debt". The revelation was a little off-putting, but it'd take nothing less than a wrecking ball to divert her from her course now,

"And what, pray tell";_ you better pray you tell me or I'll beat it out of you_; "did you owe Remington?"

"Information"; that was it, that last ounce of obtuseness sent her sailing right over the edge; she was tired, still damp and completely stressed out and, with this new bombshell blowing her hopes of a warm welcome when she managed to crawl out off this hole to hell, she reacted in the only way she could think to do. The red mist descended and, with a roar of rage in her throat and wild anger singing in her veins, Lien leapt at the one who had ruined everything she'd ever tried to build.

**Extenuating circumstances behind attack. Innocent stressed; logic disrupted. Immobilise until anger exhausted.**

XXX

When she finally came back to herself, the well of curses all drawn dry and every last scrap of anger worked out in the thrashing to be free, Lien-Da blinked and sneezed; the dust tickled her nose as she realised that, for the third time today, she and Seraph were entwined on the floor. Also for the third time, he had her right where he wanted her; immobilised, both her legs locked by his and a double arm bar preventing her from striking, unable to make an aggressive move against him. Snarling, she struggled again before quitting as the hold on her arms tightened reflexively; she settled back down, quiescent, before speaking, her voice cold now, untainted by rage,

"You can let go now".

"Try and strike, I will harm you".

"Okay, I get it"; like lightning, the grip was released, the ruffling of leather picked out as he stood up, the movement mimicked more slowly and with better control by the echidna, who fought down a sudden, suicidal urge to let fly and test just how far he'd stick to that promise. Instead, Lien flipped her hair our of her eyes again and folded her arms, huffing bad-temperedly,

"Let me guess, I'm still an innocent right?" He nodded and cool, clinical curiosity touched her; it was probably a wasted effort, but it was worth a shot.

"What does that mean anyway", she shrugged, expressing her lack of knowledge, "why am I innocent to you?" _Aha, progress_; she smiled bitterly as his hand came up, pointing at her directly as he answered in the same monotone she was now beginning to loathe just that little bit less; _one becomes inured to all things in the end_;

"I owe you nothing; you are not a target".

_Target_; that made a few things stick together in her sharp mind; _that's why he didn't attack me when he had the chance, when I was trying to seduce him – he didn't have a reason to. Maybe it was just as well I never succeeded_; she shuddered as she tried to think what he could have done to her if she'd blown his cover earlier – all the evidence suggested it wouldn't have been pleasant. Much like; her thoughts of safety soured as she pointed accusingly,

"No, I wasn't your target; Kragok was, wasn't he?" Memories of her brother again lying helpless, bloodied in a heap roared in her, demanding revenge but she soothed them; fighting now would get her nowhere, "that's why you turned his face into street pizza; you were here to assassinate him?"

**Incorrect. Grudge of pain not settled by murder.**

His head shook; it made a change from him nodding, but only confused her further; _he wasn't here to kill, and as far as I know it was a recon mission – why did he take out Kragok like he did?_ She was tempted to ask, but quickly realised that was probably a wasted effort and anyway, her next idea was of much greater importance both personally and for the Legion as a whole,

"It's a bit academic now, but, ah, what did you actually tell the EST? Oh come on", she tired to take advantage of his moment of decision, tilting the balance in the right way for her answer, "the comms of this place are shot to hell, I can't contact anyone to stop it happening so what have you got to loose – if anything", she smiled cruelly, wondering if maybe here was a chink in his armour; he seemed to have a thing for debts, maybe this was one he hadn't considered, "you can pay the Legion back for the free board you had here; tell me this and we'll call it quits".

**Potential debt owed. Adhere to code; more logical to eliminate possibility of lingering debt now than risk debt maturing.**

That idea appealed to Seraph's calculating mind; by revealing information he had already deduced she had no realistic chance of preventing from reaching the recipient, he could pay off a new debt he had only recently considered; he had retained his efficiency during the reconnaissance mission by utilising the supplies and equipment of the Legion. Here, alongside ensuring the innocent before him reached a safe location intact, was a method of payment.

"Information contained schematics of weapons, base construction, internal politics and ranks and short-term future plans of the Legion", he husked in his normal voice; Lien mulled this over and gradually became less fearful of what he'd revealed – if he was truthful and she had to admit everything he'd said up to this point had been the truth, aside from the short-term future plans he'd not given away too much.

"Okay", she was pure business now, all thoughts, even those of revenge against the assassin, were put on hold as she tried to size up the scale of this new problem, "where did you get this information?" _Depending on the sources, the more sensitive the information_;

"Mainframe computer";_ nothing critical, this base runs a separate mainframe to the rest of the Legion – he can't have got much_; "logistical papers, filed reports and casual conversations. Nothing personal". _That is such a crock_; that quote, the closest he'd come to a quip since they'd started this miserable journey, made Lien smile the smile of a condemned man being led to the gallows,

"Maybe not but I doubt Lord Enerjak will see it that way". She turned away before his voice slithered into her ears again, making her pause,

"Incorrect", she looked back at him, trying to work out what she'd done wrong, "no personal data divulged to recipient".

"Personal data", she tried to think what that meant; all she could assume was that he'd had access to the medical files and those would give away little, "what personal data do you have?" There was a silence; he didn't answer that, maybe he couldn't; she tried a different tack, giving him something to focus on rather than a general statement; _maybe from this I can tell how through his research was_;

"I mean, take me for example", she pointed at herself, or more specifically, at her torso area, still trying to trick him into looking, lowering his guard, "what did you discover about me; this'll be enough for the debt thing – answer this and we're square". In the glare of her flashlight, Seraph tensed and, from behind his mask, came a spoken dissemination of everything he knew about the echidna in front of him,

"Name, Lien-Da, title Lady Kommissar"; _nothing new there_; "living relatives; one twin brother Kragok", she had to digest that – most of the Legion knew she and Kragok were brother and sister, but not many to her knowledge had joined the dots to make them twins, "one half-sister Julie-Su"; _what, I don't have a…_; her confusion was blanked by his next words, words that stole the breath from her body, "and one great-grandfather Dimitri, now Enerjak", the shock paralysed her; this strange beast had pierced the veil, knew the former and present lords of the Dark Legion were one and the same – the consequences of that being revealed to the general public would be at the very best dire. She was unable to cut him off; it was only his next two words, still delivered in a perfect deadpan, that triggered enough outrage to get her tongue to work again,

"Borderline nymphomaniac…" _Excuse me!_

If anyone other than Seraph had been there, the look would have been priceless; her cheeks coloured as red as her fur; she thrust the flashlight forwards like a sword as she spoke very slowly, words dripping with wounded dignity,

"How dare you; I am not a nympho…"

"Seventeen sexual partners in thirty days; ratio medically recognised as borderline". Her mouth fell open as her face burned; the question she needed to ask next squeaked rather than shrieked,

"What the hell kind of report did you drag that up from; how did you know that?"

**No disadvantage; information source already known to innocent.**

"Information source; small book in your quarters".

There was a second's pause, then another, then a third before finally Lien-Da managed to understand what he was saying; her shriek echoed throughout the deserted base, a textbook case of feminine outrage,

"YOU READ MY DIARY!"

A/N: Sorry, you have to wait until next chapter to find out the reactions to this diary outrage – they'll make Bonfire Night look like a damp squib!


	7. Chapter 6 Twin Breeches of Privacy

Chapter 6 – Twin Breaches of Privacy.

A/N: Uh oh, Seraph made a bit of a mistake in admitting that. Oh well, it's all going to be all right isn't it? Well, not if you lot are anything to go by it's not:

HHH – And you're calling Lien sick with that diary devoted to KnuxRouge disturbingness? Oh BTW, to help with science, this chapter's got a few biology references to give you a hand :-).

Ri2 – Julie-Su, where are you? Hmm, she's not here right now but, then again, with me you can never tell…

RGN – To find out about Seraph with the EST, keep on reading.

TH – I know it's funny; here's a bit more to keep you happy.

As a student of biology, even if this avenue of science had been diverted slightly due to an aversion of the sight of blood, Kommissar knew that she and most other echidnas had approximately eight pints of blood circulating in their systems at any one time. This figure was by no means concrete; it was subject to change according to any number of factors from injury to, in her case, what time of the month it was; still, she had eight pints as a rough figure.

However, going on the evidence she could feel now, at least seven and a half of those eight pints were currently not circulating. They were lodged immovably in the region of her cheeks; mind you, it wasn't like the rest of her needed it – her insides had shrivelled up and died of embarrassment and her heart had stopped beating what felt like eons ago. She couldn't even consider anger; all she knew right now at this precise moment in time was pure, unadulterated embarrassment.

"Oh _Gooooddddd!"_ She clenched her fists against her face, feeling the heat on her fingers as she groaned aloud; she'd kept a diary since almost before she could remember. Her mother had got her into the habit, though Lien could barely remember her now – she and Kragok both had been brought up to regard a diary as something inviolatable; a repository for someone's deepest feelings and secrets, never to be touched by another person. To even think of reading a diary, someone else's diary at least, was tantamount to unthinkable; no-one had the right to invade someone's private world in such a manner. _And_; she squirmed, feeling like a worm in a dissection class as suddenly every tiny, embarrassing thing that small book in her quarters held stood out in her mind with crystal clarity; _some of the things in there really should have stayed private_.

Unpleasant scenarios span through her head dizzyingly; she couldn't even begin to image her great-grandfather's reaction if he ever found out what the little red hearts spread liberally throughout the book meant, or even worse, what the even smaller numbers inside them represented; Dimitri for all his faults was a staunch believer in monogamy. All her secret dreams and desires had been systematically turned over and examined by the Mobian in front of her; suddenly his hand under her clothes to get his weapon back felt like the height of modesty compared to this violation. Slowly dragging her bunched fists down her face, unable to muster the energy to be outraged, she set her gaze on where Seraph still stood, immobile and waiting for her,

"I take it what was in there is now on its way to the EST?"

"Technical plans only; nothing personal". There was a slight crumb of hope, a mere sliver of hope as Lien suddenly stood swaying, pointing at the hidden infiltrator with a shaking finger,

"So, no-one knows about that except you?"

"Incorrect"; _oh no – who'd you…?_; "you compiled the information".

"Okay, you and me then", she snapped, the path of hope a little brighter now as she carried on, "no-one else – you haven't passed it on to anyone?" He shook his head and with that great relief, a sigh like something from a wind tunnel echoed through the silent corridor; Lien finally managed to convince her blood to stop burning her cheeks and get back to its normal route before making her mind up; _I gotta get hold of that book before I get out of here – if anyone else reads that…especially now the guardian knows I'm Kommissar_; she cringed, not able and most certainly not wanting to even consider that book being put into circulation. _Right, the situation's gone from 'wish I was dead' to 'grandfather's gonna kill me when he gets his hands on me' – I can manage that_; not like she hadn't had the practise at deflecting Dimitri's criticisms of her personal life and rather flamboyant attitude to rules; if anything Kragok would be in a worse boat than her as she had experience in this sort of trouble.

Silence reigned for a few more seconds before, with a second sigh, Lien gripped the flashlight again, swinging it up to allow the glare to reflect of Seraph's mask once more, though he didn't appear to take much notice of the fact as she spoke,

"Right, change of plan", her words were brisk and clear; she didn't want him to have a chance to argue, "we're going to the officer's quarters, next floor up, before we get out of here".

"Reason?"

"There are some", the image of her diary, nestled safe in the top drawer of her dressing table whirled in her head; she paused for a second, trying to blank the vision out before finishing, focussing on the other material she had hidden there, the small disk and the hope it represented form the Legion, "details I need to collect from them; once that's done, we can get out of this place".

**Delay increasing. Logical to assume Echidnopolis Security Team will locate and search base. No further debt to Echidnopolis Security Team. Conclude business with Dark Legion; safeguard documents to settle debt.**

"From the map, we take the next right, second left and then a set of stairs should be right in front of us on the right", Lien plotted the course with minimal effort and pointed the flashlight to illuminate the way, "if we get started we can be out of here in the hour; do not even try to pick me up, I am walking there". She made that very clear, raising the flashlight as a weapon as Seraph made to move.

**Risk exceeding acceptable level; Spyder location known to innocent.**

He stepped forwards and she felt his hidden eyes on her all the time, his guard not daring to lower even after this time; she tried to lean back and catch a glimpse of what still puzzled her on his back but he twisted on the ball of his foot, facing her head on, cheating the light beam of a clear view as he pointed at her to make a move. Relived that she wasn't about to be slung over his shoulder again, Lien felt rather than saw him fall into step beside but slightly behind her, her flashlight leading the way as he apparently didn't need it. _He really can see in the dark_; she caught herself suddenly, scowling as she crushed the flicker of admiration, however faint, from her soul. This time, however, the flicker set light to the parts of her she tried to crush it with; the more she thought about what he'd done, leaving aside Kragok's wounding as that was on another level entirely, a level that could only be met with retribution and pain, it was actually very impressive. Maybe it was the darkness finally getting to her, maybe it was the realisation that, after what he'd just said, she didn't actually have any real secrets with this guy or maybe, just maybe, it was the realisation that whatever faults you could lay at his door, and callousness, cold-heartedness and GBH would have to be among them, Seraph wasn't actually inherently nasty.

_I jumped on him with a knife_; rather than seeking a way to crack the fortress with a concentrated attack, now Lien tried to take a wider view, seeing what made the dark angel tick; _he could have killed me then, and if not then certainly afterwards, but all he did was get back the weapon I stole. Hang on a minute – 'I owe you nothing'…_; she licked her lip, some of Seraph's very few words making a lot of sense now, in light of what she'd managed to uncover off her own bat. He seemed to have some kind of fixation on debts and the payment of said debts; the only reason he was here now was because, rather than her individually, she guessed he felt he owed the Legion something. Her earlier shot in the dark had hit a target; he'd taken board and lodgings from the Legion without them knowing anything about it, and now he was paying them back for taking such spirited away gains.

Without turning her head, Lien-Da cast her silent companion a side-long glance and wondered how he could endure the solitude as he did; he certainly didn't revel in it because he would talk to her, but she had to ask the right question for that to happen. Darkness she could understand; he could see in it, she couldn't; he had a big advantage, and even to a certain extent she could understand why he preferred to be silent; his voice, or what she assumed his voice must be like, didn't lend itself well to prolonged conversation. Besides, everything she'd gotten from him thus far indicated a professional hit-Mobian, and a very accomplished professional at that. He was hired by someone, that wasn't a doubt, but even as the thought crossed her mind she couldn't understand who; he'd given the EST vital information true, but now he was helping her escape the wreckage of her own base – surely if he was working for Remington, or for that matter the guardians, he'd be bringing her in. As she ticked off the next step of her journey and hung a hard left, she totted up the potential gains and, deciding that even if she got one word it was worth it; silence bugged her far worse than it did him; she asked,

"Seraph?" He was listening; she didn't need to hear or see him to know that – her voice alone would have him taking an interest in her words.

"Why did you help Knuckles, the guardian, escape from that trap we set for him? You said you were paying off the EST; you owe him as well?"

**Innocent attempting understanding. Not possible. Reply in affirmative.**

His head lowered and than raised, a solitary nod to match a solitary owner; she wanted to press him on that point but resisted the unwise idea; he'd just clam up further and all her efforts would be undone. Instead, pursuing a scientific interest, she stopped suddenly just before the doors ahead and asked a second question, one crucial plank in the structure of her thirst of revenge had to be nailed down proper before she could plot any more,

"So why did you beat up my brother?"

"Immaterial", the husked reply made her raise her eyebrows; to her that was anything but an immaterial point, "grudge settled". _A grudge_; that put a new angle on things; debts and grudges, a two-tier system depending on whether people had helped or hindered him; as the journey wore on Lien started to form a picture in her head, a more vivid, detail picture than anything her eyes could pick out in this darkness.

_On paper it's simple – someone helps him – the EST, or the Legion for that matter_; that was one bone of contention she couldn't quite settle – apparently Seraph worked for both sides equally as it suited him; _he really must be good at his job or he'd be dead by now, but anyway_; she got back on track, shaking off the distracting tangent even as she remembered Kragok's beaten face, using her brother's blood to quench the fires, however slight, of admiration of this obtuse, awkward merchant of destruction; _he will help them out – he got the guardian out of that trap and obviously settled something with him. And the same thing in reverse_; her teeth gritted, another sideways glance, this one much sharper, slid from the corner of her eye; _he thinks someone's done him a wrong turn, he'll make it up to them, with interest if Kragok was any example_. The memory pricked her thought and she stopped, Seraph effortlessly ceasing motion beside her to shield his apparently vulnerable back,

"Hey, it is not immaterial", she raised the light, illuminating her own face slightly as she spoke on, "that was my brother you beat to a pulp, and know this", she spoke to reassure herself as much as to warn him, "I don't like you Seraph, in fact, I detest you, not because you beat him, but because you're a coward; you hit Kragok from behind and took him down without mercy; for that, I will get even".

**Warning heeded; discounted. Innocent not proficient – little risk if not allowed to acquire firearms. Statement also incorrect.**

He said nothing, she hadn't expected him to; therefore, after she'd turned back around, his death-rattle of a voice sliced through the air, she froze and listened,

"Incorrect", she span to face her tormentor in the darkness, the flashlight highlighting him, banishing the shadows he seemed to inhabit, "former target not proficient in self-defence".

That was a joke; in all the time she'd ever been a fully-fledged member of the Dark Legion, she'd never yet known a single foe Kragok hadn't been able to put down. He'd routinely bested every combat trainer, in martial arts as well as marksmanship, the Legion had been able to provide him with and made it look easy; in fact he often complained to Dimitri that the Legion's martial strength was too weak to allow them to complete their divine mission. However, strength of arms was only one way, and in Lien's eyes, and thankfully her great-grandfather's as well, the worst way to win a war; in this new environment, with Enerjak adamant on a path of pacifism and diverting much of the Legion's focus to other paths away from warfare, soldiers were becoming rarer. Lien-Da knew that, even with the surprise of Seraph's blasts, the guardian wouldn't have triumphed against soldiers of the Legion of old; the troopers who had fought then had been green, out of practise and, once the battle line had been broken and especially when Kragok had fallen, they'd been afraid and that fear had done more damage than any of their opponents. Just like she knew that, had Kragok been able to fight properly, this black angel would have been ripped limb from limb before he'd even laid a finger on her twin,

"Really?" Her voice dripped with scorn and mocking disbelief, "what would you say if I said I didn't believe you?"

"Immaterial".

"Immaterial?" She stepped in close, face an ugly sneer as she snarled her next threat, "remember that when I put a gun blast through your head".

The bravado nearly worked; it had precisely no effect on the monolithic assassin, but it very nearly squeezed the last of her respect for him out of her – in this case though, nearly wasn't enough. Like a dormant coal, almost as soon as she'd turned away her thoughts re-ignited and somehow, almost blasphemously she found herself drawing lines between Kragok and this monster who had put him down unfairly. _The way he got in was smart_; she ran over his ingenuity in picking a disguise that meant he'd been able to camouflage not only his mask, but also his colourless voice as well; _after all, who expects someone designated as a mute to talk? Actually_; she smiled a little, a slight serendipitous quirk of fate allowing her to see a little humour in the bleakness;_ it was a pretty accurate pick_. That was the sort of thinking Kragok relished; he always looked for the advantage, that little bit extra when trying something new; that was why he pushed himself so hard to understand the secrets of the Legion, get closer to the heart of their mission – he was forever asking permission to study the Central Dogma Dimitri had entombed himself within but, as yet, the venerable echidna had denied him access, stating he wasn't experienced enough to handle such knowledge.

It was strange; she considered all the angles, but it appeared her twin had been beaten by someone who was more proficient at his own game than he was; this hadn't just been a rush in all guns blazing, it had been a meticulously planned and executed extended reconnaissance mission that had, at the precise second he needed it to, turned into a failed assassination. _If things had been different, if he'd have been working for us…_; that was it!

Lien stiffened, a sudden surge of excitement tingling her; this was one way she could curry enough favour with her great-grandfather to, if not get him to discount what a monumental mess-up this had been, at least soften the blow somewhat. She had to trap Seraph, not to kill or wound him, no; compared to this idea that was far too crude and unpleasant – here she was using his own rough sense of honour, such as she understood it, against him. _All I have to do is get him to owe me something_; she had a sudden vision of leading the dark angel into Necronopolis meek as a lamb, all bowing before her as at least some would remember what Seraph had done and wondering how Lien-Da had succeeded where her brother had failed. Kragok's jaw would fall open, astonished to see his conqueror humbled as Enerjak was forced to choke back his rage and admit that, despite all the odds, there had been a slight bright side to this tragedy. Seraph was, as far as she could tell, a lethal weapon with no real weaknesses as she could understand them; something like that gaining information on the EST or, dared she imagine it, the guardian Knuckles, the secrets he could unearth; it was enough to send a shiver down her spine and inject a little brightness back into this subterranean pit.

XXX

"Lines down"; he'd stopped her moving with his words alone; Lien swung the light up to see with chagrin that he was right; it must have been some blast to make so many lines dangle like socks draped on a washing wire. He'd disrupted her chain of thought but it hadn't really had too many links in it; she was stuck on the first, and possibly the last, part of her plan; somehow, she had to get an advantage on this impassive shadow in her footsteps. _It would be so much easier_; she reasoned as she slid her back to the wall, acutely aware of how damp her clothes still were as she squeezed past, giving the lines as wide a berth as possibly, trying to even hold her breath in the claustrophobic environment in case the displaced air set the wire swinging. She swished past as soon as possible, screwing up her frayed nerves to make sure she had enough to rush past, exhaling explosively in time to point the flashlight back as Seraph; incredulous but not exactly surprised, she watched on as he just strolled past the descended cable, unperturbed by the potential death mere feet from his side. _If only he'd slipped_; she grumbled at the bad hand fate seemed to be dealing her; _I could have made the diving save and he'd owe me his life – oh the things I could do with that_. The pleasant thought occupied her so much that it was only when the rasping hiss of,

"Incorrect direction" jerked her back to the present she stopped and examined everything she could by the light of her beam. Once more her cheeks reddened slightly; whatever else had happened today her blushing reflexes had been proved as all present and correct, and she began to stalk back to where Seraph awaited her.

"Why'd you warn me?"

"Potential danger in separation".

"So?" She affected nonchalance cleverly, seeking to determine if this was a way she could lever open the shell he'd cocooned himself within, "what's that to you? You're not under any obligation here…"

**Incorrect. Innocent delivered safely to surface to repay debt to Dark Legion.**

"…you could have just let me go. After all", she put her hands on her hips, posing slightly even if she wasn't hopeful that this idea would work now any more than it unwittingly hadn't earlier, "I did promise to kill you".

"Harm not the innocent".

"You said that before", she reminded them both, delighting in uncovering something else, another hidden meaning in his clipped code of conduct, "you said that's why you didn't hurt me, but now you're not. You mean you can't let me come to harm either"; _bingo_; that was it, the one chance she needed – for some reason this idiot actually thought she was some helpless damsel in distress and wasn't about to let her risk herself no matter what she threatened; _and if that's not an invite I don't know what is_._ All I have to do is box clever – fake like I'm in trouble, let him come the gallant rescue then save his ass – he owes me and I get control_. She searched ahead, thinking of what she could do in the circumstances even as Seraph turned his head slightly, indicating the way they needed to go next, she was plotting against him.

**Strategy predicted; discounted. Code allows attempted suicide of innocent to proceed unimpeded. **

XXX

Had it not been for her scientific mind, her quick and logical thinking, the whole course of the future might have been altered by Lien-Da's ignorance.

The female echidna had searched through all the possibilities she could conceive and, she shook her head, none of them looked feasible or, if the did look feasible, none of them looked safe for her. The best she'd come up with so far was dangling herself near an 'unseen' power line, but even that she didn't trust; if he messed up there was a good chance she'd get shocked and possibly be entombed in this base. As the door to the stairs they needed loomed up ahead, Lien broke away from those thoughts; she wasn't making any headway here and the more she thought about it the more frustrated it was making her. She had to take a break for a while, think about something else for a bit then come back, mind refreshed and ready to look at the same problem from a different angle. _Thing is_; normally this was never a problem for someone as charismatic as Lien; she could normally strike up a conversation with anyone on her research team to break the tedium, but in this case her charisma was matched by utter dourness on the part of her singular companion; _what can I possibly talk about in this case_?

She thought about it as Seraph pointed at her to turn around and break the door, passing her the Spyder, keeping the flashlight down with one hand as he seemingly sought to shield whatever weakness he had on his back, the regions where his suit didn't protect him; in the end, as she gingerly unscrewed the panel on the front of the door access panel, Lien decided she could do two things at once; she could first clear a little tension from the end and sort out her mind, and second she might just begin to recover from the humiliation Seraph had just put her through. Her shoulders began to shake; she still kept her back turned even when she heard the creak of chafing leather; Seraph turning to regard her as she choked the laughter down,

"I can't believe", she knew he was listening, "you read my diary; do you have any idea how rude that is?"

**Information source should have been better concealed. **

"Easy to locate; information valuable"; _yeah, if you were after bribery you'd have me over a barrel_; Lien shuddered, pausing in her work as she considered what would happen if, at some stage, he decided to use that against her; she couldn't afford to become a target in case he used that information against her. _But_; the time out worked as a light bulb was lit with a typical 'ping'; _what other information did you get?_

"Remind me again"; _make sure he knows I'm not asking for any new info_; "what other of these 'information sources' did you turn over to give to the EST?" He peeled through the old list she could remember perfectly; it was when she reached the end alongside him she added,

"And of course, my diary as well", she smiled, crossing her fingers out of his line of sight as she spoke, her tone light and conversational even if inside she was screaming for the right answer to come her way, "just out of interest, you being very through in you matters, did it not occur to you that you could have become number eighteen? Come on", she stood at his silence, the twinkle back in her eye as she stood tall, "you aren't blind; I was all over you and you could have just slipped off that leather, walked in with your disguise and had some fun with me. Why didn't you?"

**Unnecessary delay. Copulation unnecessary to obtain information. Risk of camouflage breech.**

"Unnecessary"; that statement put the final nail in that coffin – Lien shook her head and squatted back down, knife in her hand as she at last gave up on seduction; _just my luck to have a gay hit-Mobian after my blood_. Still, she had one last card to play and, having held it close to her chest for so long, she finally brought it out into the open,

"Hey Seraph", she paused, licking her lips before biting the bullet, "when you were cleaning, that was when you got all your info wasn't it?"

"Correct".

"Well, in that case, you had pretty much full access to the base; I know you were in my room", that much she was certain of; it was the next bit she wasn't so sure of, "did you go into Kragoks as well?"

"Yes"; _right, now we're getting somewhere_;

"Okay, and you read his diary as well didn't you; I mean, you're good at what you do, so you'd have checked out his sources of information as thoroughly as you tested mine", she didn't wait for an answer; she just knew she was right this time and carried on, grinning at her own cleverness. Lien had morals; she'd never even think of stooping to read her brother's diary and learning his secrets, but asking someone else who had done, well that just wasn't the same thing. _If nothing else I want bribery_; she chortled a little, having to suspend her breaking the door as the tremors affected her hands, making them less than perfectly steady; _nothing really bad, just enough to make him squirm when I want him to_;

"Well in that case, I want a bit of gen about my brother", she wasn't as close to Kragok as she'd have liked to be; he'd been distant from her for a while now, since before Dimitri had sealed them away to be precise, just growing up as a different person from her; her was the perfect opportunity to get a little closer to him again, "what's his, er, you know, the thing he wants most of all – like his greatest desire – you know mine right, it was written in my diary".

"Yes"; that was no surprise; all Lien really wanted was a method of immortality that didn't involve mechanisation; she had no real desire for her body to become armour-plated, hidden and mutilated to preserve her life. It was a difficult thing to even consider doing though, the Legion was all about technology as it was proven to prolong lifespan; Dimitri was very much of the if it's not broke why fix it mindset; so far she'd managed to get away with just a few of her dreadlocks being replaced with a few well-timed excuses, but the day when more of her would be replaced with silver was coming closer and, much as she didn't like the idea of death, she was reluctant to lose more of her body.

Kragok, now there was a different kettle of fish entirely; he was always pressing everyone, including her, to get more augmentations; it was one of the things that really bugged her about him, that persistent drive for mechanics – at least he could wait for her to perfect her emotional programming before he insisted everyone fitted into as perfect a tin can as the Legion could fit them in. So much so, Lien really didn't have a clue what her tempestuous brother really wanted and this was a golden opportunity to find out; whatever anyone else could say about her, Lien never looked a gift horse in the mouth

"So come on then; what's his greatest goal then? I'm his sister, I've got a right to know".

**True. No risk in disseminating that information.**

"You and Enerjak dead".

XXX

The Spyder clattered to the floor, a verbal blade sharper and more lethal than even it was slashing out at Lien-Da; like a lot of wounds, it took a few seconds after the blow had been struck for the pain and shock to register. The redness that had seemed to have concentrated around her face of late drained away, down to the very soles of her boots as she panted, trying to come to terms with what Seraph had just told her, how he'd lied about that so callously, just to add to the misery and torment she was having down her by insinuating Kragok would…

Fury, reforged in the light of this second betrayal by the angel in black and focussed like never before as it was directed at her, personally, bad-mouthing her own flesh and blood, took over, lent her strength. Lien shot to her feet, forgetting the blade on the floor as she knew she wouldn't need it, not to gain this apology,

"How dare you", she pointed with a finger that could have punched a hole in the wall, "how dare you kick someone when they're down like that? What else do you have against him; not enough to beat him up physically? You have to try and besmirch his memory like that, with a craven, filthy lie; I am his _sister_. Kragok would lay down his life to defend me, I would for him; you dare to try and make him out as a killer. You disgust me", she spat, the fluid striking the dark angel's leather and sliding down, glowing in the light of her torch beam. She glared piercingly; if he tried to deny this, uttered one word that even had the inflection that Kragok wanted death and she'd pounce; she'd just destroy him with pure rage; _ and here we go then_; he tensed and she followed suit, blood thundering through her in readiness to defend her absent brother's name,

"You believe", the words wrong-footed her a little, leaving her open for the second blow, "I know".

She was left without a riposte; the few words he'd used meant there was little to work with anyway; but the basic, bitter truth of the statement was that, much as she tried to curse the fact, according to the principles of science she held so dear, he was right. She had no proof that he was lying and now, maggot-like, belated fears began to crawl over her, making her skin prickle and bristle as she couldn't think of a single instance in the past when Seraph had uttered an untruth. It didn't mean much; after all, he had lied about being a Legionnaire to get here, but since then, one-on-one, he'd been if nothing else truthful though she hadn't known him long. Still, she could, she would, get proof; Kragok would understand, in fact he'd never even find out if she was careful enough. She'd break her taboo this once; she had to – much as she hid it, Seraph's words had rattled her somewhat just because they had been so unexpected. It was one reason she'd never even considered for Kragok going so cold – he was burning bridges so he'd be better able to…_what am I thinking?_

She crushed the thought, refused to even let it enter her mind – she was going to get proof just so she could reaffirm another reason she had to obliterate Seraph – forget using him as a weapon now, he was far beyond that redemption. She wanted him dead and, as soon as she purged herself of this doubt, she'd be able to plan how she could do just that; K_ragok would keep a gun in his room, all I have to do is find it and shoot first._ With this thought in her sharp mind, she span and dropped, fingers scrabbling for the Spyder as she strove to unlock the door faster, the answers were waiting for her and she'd use them to cement the reasons for an angel's death.

XXX

"Don't try", she threatened as Seraph took back his safe knife, having nodded at the door ahead of him, ensuring the cables there were not in a position to impede them. After what he'd just said, she had no desire to get anywhere near him ever again, he was a poison to her that she'd be only to grateful to expel when the time came. She took the lead, picking out the stairs with the torch and mounting them easily, the climb quick as she realised she didn't have far to go to prove her brother's innocence. _I'll show him Kragok_; she promised silently as she heard Seraph just behind her, she had to fight hard to suppress the urge to kick backwards and send him flying with her boot-print on his mask; _I'll teach him what it means to spread lies against you, or any of our family_. If a part of her, however small, whispered that, by doing this, she'd be expelling her own doubt she never listened to it – as far as she was concerned, all this was Seraph's fault, and because of that, all she was doing was making sure he really was going to get what was coming to him.

She was so pre-occupied that she nearly tripped over her own feet trying to step up onto an invisible stair; she was at the top, the end of this fast and furious journey. She didn't even need to look to know which way she was going; Kragok's room was at the end of the corridor, opposite her own; they were the only two officers the base catered for and therefore the choice was limited. Quickly striding over to the door, Lien was astounded to see the door slightly ajar; Kragok's room was open, the lightless room beckoning her inside; she shone her flashlight into the revealed crease, the beam slicing through the darkness to deliver the silhouettes of silent, sinister shadows, deeper than the darkness that surrounded them. Swallowing slightly, the sudden chill around her skin not just due to the cooler air up here, Lien moved forwards, only to jump up and nearly drop her precious light source as something akin to a vice slammed onto her arm.

"Structure unsafe. Lines…"

"I don't care; get the hell off me", anger engulfed her fear; he was the whole reason she was in this mess and now, because of his haunting, unforgettable words, she was sticking her neck out still further even if she knew it had to be done; he had sounded so ghostly sure, so unemotionally right, that she knew if this wasn't checked out, if he wasn't proved wrong, she'd be sleeping with one eye open for the rest of her life, a residue or doubt, however slight, between her and her brother for all time. Pulling her arm out of his grip, unheeding as she uprooted a few hairs to do so, she strode onwards, though as his warning carried her ears she went slower than she had been, careful to check every footstep before finally, having analysed the door in front of her, she slowly exhaled, clipped the torch onto her belt and finally, stilling the trembling in her fingers, eased the door open.

With the sight cleared, the light she bore was able to pierce even this deeper darkness combined with shadow; the picture was revealed slowly under her tracking flashlight. With a sudden breath of relief, Lien lowered her guard minutely, stepping into her brother's room gingerly; as she looked around, it seemed almost as identical as when she'd been here the last time. The quarters were fairly Spartan; the bed was nothing like her own, a place to sleep rather than to…well, share; the few shelves were stacked with a few books, some of them his own works, dealing with strategy and martial arts; _and you said he couldn't defend himself?_ She flashed a look over her shoulder to see Seraph, apparently still in the doorway, head up as though seeing something she didn't care about; she was too busy trying to suck water into her suddenly dry mouth, dispel the fear that, suddenly, she didn't want to do this.

_I don't need to read this_; she asserted it in her mind, but the voice making the argument was weak and pleading, almost as if afraid of what it might find; _Kragok is my twin brother, we were together before we were even born, he'd never – he might – no, he wouldn't, he's my flesh and blood – he's always looking for ways to get ahead – with me – not always_; she was caught in an internal struggle. Part of her wanted to turn around, walk out and blame everything on the silent sentinel behind her – he'd messed with her head in this dark dungeon, it was all his fault but another part of her wouldn't let that happen. His words were sticking in her mind, lodging in her thoughts and she knew she had to excised them, like splinters from her skin else they would fester and drive her to distraction. There was only one real place the information, the reassurance, she needed could be; the top drawer of his desk was the only conceivable place it could be stored; it was unlocked, but the thought of not trusting her own brother, betraying him like this…it was enough to freeze her in place.

For time immemorial, endless, countless seconds Lien-Da stood, paralysed with indecision, head and heart warring furiously as they tried to assess a problem on a scale as yet unseen by her before this day, this minute. And at the end, when the smoke had cleared, the debates blown away, there was only one statement left standing, unsteady on its feet, but standing still; _I have to know_.

With a lump of bile in her throat, flashlight shaking in her hand, the joint second-in-command of the Dark Legion slowly extended her hand and gradually, almost reverentially, pulled open the drawer. Her trembling hand slipped in and, a second later, withdrew just as slowly, the small book held within closed still for the moment. With a silent prayer of hope in her heart even if her brain was convinced this would be the moment of Kragok's vindication, Lien finally took her future in her hands and, with a sudden movement, let the diary fall open on the desk. Passing the light over it, she flipped a couple of pages and absorbed that which she had never been meant to see.

XXX

It had not been unexpected that she would react, but the violence of it was underestimated; the impact of the innocent on the bed was enough to send a tremor through the floor and up the walls, reverberating onto the very ceiling itself. This was enough; he saw it begin and was moving, impelled by the code to do so, protect those who had committed no sin against him, even before the screw finally popped free of its socket and the cable it had been supporting swung down in a deadly arc. It struck the springing dark angel squarely in the chest; Seraph had a second to realise that the shock of static as it earthed through him was not of sufficient magnitude to impair him greatly, but the energy it generated threw him backwards; he had no time to brace for the inevitable impact. Had Lien been capable of reacting, she may have caught Seraph and earned a favour from him as, with a muffled crash, the dark angel was flung into the wall behind him headfirst and slumped down, unmoving.

XXX

A single tear dripped from her eye though she never felt it leave her; similarly, all she had received from the drama behind her was a sudden scuffling, a smash and then silence. _I was mistaken – I read the words wrong_; she clung to a fragment of hope, a tiny raft in this new ocean of freezing despair, one that might just keep her head above water. Ignoring the slight pressure she could now feel on her back, Lien stood up, tottering forwards with her eyes wide and almost unseeing, lurching onto the desk and holding herself upright against it as she slowly raised her light again in a move that would either spare or sunder her hope forever:

_My great-grandfather needs replacing_.

_No_; she meant it both ways, a futile denial that she wasn't reading this reality correctly and, at the same time, an admission that she had not been mistaken previously; _this is his diary, his writing, his feelings_. Still, as she beheld that clinical, cold statement a third time, she could not have called herself Mobian if she had not wished, just for an instant, that this was all just a bad dream.

A/N: Sadly not – next chapter, the viper in the grass rears its ugly head.


	8. Chapter 7 No Waking from the Nightmare

Chapter 7 – No Waking from the Nightmare.

A/N: I will give a warning here and now – this chapter is possibly the darkest thing I've got written on the site so far. It has tones that may not be suitable for younger kids – heed that T rating if you're not already doing so. Apart from that, the reviewers:

HHH – Good question, what will happen to Seraph when Lien realises. Hope the answer will surprise you!

Ri2 – Umm, the whole sex drive thing, it's not that desperate. Hopefully this chapter will show how Seraph is immune to feminine beguilement. And yes, Kragok is a dangerous Mobain…

DH – This chapter is the main one where the illusions are lost; hopefully you'll see how the title fits in. Interesting point about Seraph being killed – how do you kill what's already dead? (Read the chapter to understand more fully!)

TH – Continuation received, and updated. Hope you enjoy it!

The date of this entry correlated with a day before her own first writing; just after Enerjak had finally emerged from the steel womb that had contained the Central Dogma; with his assistance, the two twins had finally been able to make serious headway in getting Necronopolis functioning and the Legionnaires within it defrosted again. The first real night of rest either of them had ever had, and now this was the result; Lien read down, too far gone for tears now, all emotions eaten by shock and, as she read the next few lines down, utter revulsion:

XXX

_I could have done it earlier; he had appeared, his injuries were great. Lien was screaming for help, she couldn't do what he asked alone – no real change there then; she's never been able to do anything important off her own initiative, always needs help and reassurance from someone. I should have finished it; shot her and left Dimitri to die where his dreams had led him – in the gutter with the dirt on the floor. But I couldn't; for now I need Dimitri to get this shack online – from there, there'll be other opportunities._

XXX

In the darkness of the bedroom, it suddenly made so much sense; Kragok had been in shock at the sight of their great-grandfather when he'd reappeared, back broken after his final fight with Amy Rose; only, according to this unmeant confession, it hadn't been shock. _He was_; she shivered, skin turned to ice by the unfeeling sociopathy displayed in these words; _he was working out if it was worth killing us then – he would have shot me_.

The knife in her heart was twisted further; the brother she had schooled with, trained alongside and maybe even admired, was an illusion; the Kragok she knew was nothing more than a cunningly wrought mask, hiding his true self behind a veneer of untruth. A true self that, it seemed, cared for nothing beyond it's own hunger for power, craving for gain; muttering a silent plea that she knew would go unanswered, Lien allowed her inner steel to strengthen her for just a little longer as she sought to understand just how deep this power slavery went. To her relief, the next few pages were sketchy; it had been a busy time, but even so, there were still some disturbing passages to be read:

XXX

_The politics are potentially a good idea, but there is little military strength in Necronopolis now. I pointed this out to Enerjak, as he is called now, and he admitted this was deliberate. There's no need for war now – that's a stupid thing to say; I read a passage from the world below, from one of their famous generals. I agree, blood and iron is the only way to settle a grievance as deep as mine is with the guardians._

XXX

The words chilled her still further; _blood and iron_; from the way he was speaking through this book, it sounded like Kragok would like nothing more than to kill the Brotherhood of Guardians, but that was wrong. Their earliest memory, the very root message of the Dark Legion, drilled into the recruits before and beyond everything else, was the first commandment; _thou shalt not kill_. There was always a better way; Enerjak had told her he had a plan to deal with the guardians but had never exactly mentioned specifics; he had a plan though, that was all she needed to know. A picture was forming in her mind, the form terrifying but as yet uncompleted; much as she was screaming for this to end, she needed more information to make that noxious mental painting complete. Her fingers, so nimble and precise normally, now fumbled and shook, trying hard to grip the corner of the page; they succeeded and the next leaf fell; immediately her sight was gripped by words written with so much rage they virtually smouldered:

XXX

_Curse him! Curse him for a fool, a thousand times a blinkered idiot! He had Angel Island in the palm of his hand and he let it slip away!_

_The guardians were divided, he had limitless numbers of drones at his disposal – the victory should have been assured. To hell and beyond with his noble talk of salvation; there should have been no margin for error; a battle of attrition, a war that would have ground our backwards cousins to dust. The feud should have ended there and there alone; now because of his misguided attempts to save everything and everyone from death we are so badly weakened it'll take everything I've got to steady this sinking ship. Once upon a time in the land below, you could shoot deserters and cowards; if that were the case I'd have cause to execute my senile great-grandfather – letting your foes beat you, snatching defeat from the jaws for victory – there's a crime that should be punishable by death._

XXX

Hot, burning tears clustered at the corner of her eyes; her brother was disappearing before her helpless mind, melting away like candle wax on a hot plate to reveal something else, something poisonous and evil hidden in the soft mould, something that had only ever been seen in glimpses and out the corner of the eye before this. _Battles of attrition, fighting to the death_; such things revolted her, but to hear them from the heart of her own twin, someone she had been duped into believing would have protected her with everything he had, was a crushing attack; now she could believe that, had she been in the firing line, Kragok would have been egging someone to actually shoot her and reduce his competition; _because that's what I am to him_.

She was smart enough to put two and two together; he talked openly to his diary about killing both her and Dimitri and there was only one reason he sought to do that – Kragok wanted to rule the Dark Legion alone and with no rivals. The only question was now, why did he want to rule the Legion in the first place; _to corrupt it_. That was easily answered, she brushed away some tears, preventing them smearing this hateful confession as she knew what had turned Kragok; she knew in her heart, a heart now pouring blood as the dagger of betrayal was ground further and further into the grievous wound it had torn open, why he was obsessed with being the leader, but still she needed to convince her head of the same reasons. In this sea of uncertainty she clung to the raft of her science; she needed to read it, hear, as it were, the words from his own mouth to prove beyond all doubt what her brother had devolved into, had let himself become to sate his own appetite for power. With a soul of lead, Lien let her weary, aged eyes return to the rest of this passage.

XXX

_If it had been me there, just one chance like that, it would have ended there and then, forever; with the Bloodstone at my back and the drones to conquer all before me nothing could have stood in my way, let alone some pathetic thing from the lands below. The Brotherhood would have been sundered forever, their remains delivered as a warning to Echidnopolis; cut off the head, put down the hardest sons of bitches you can find and the rest just fall into line._

_The invasion should have been simple; the drones could have taken out the EST HQ and the main council buildings. There's no need for ransom; everything could be taken as and when I deemed it necessary. There's only one choice; fall into line with me, or die._

XXX

_He's gone mad_; Lien's eyes swept the pages again and again, trying to overturn a hidden stone but unable to; the message was brazenly in full sight and she could not unsee what had been written so clearly. Kragok wasn't interested in the Dark Legion, they were merely a means to an end; he wanted Echidnopolis as well, willingly or otherwise; going by this, she would have bet money that this devil who had somehow perverted her brother to this state of megalomania would have preferred a bloodbath, slaying those who dared raise a protest to break the spirit of the other echidnas, helpless before the military might of the Legion's drones. _And after Angel Island_; her entire body trembled, visions of a world she barely knew of, had never even seen, burning in the fires of war, eternal and vicious as, under Kragok's generalship, the Dark Legion massed to bring the rest of the world to heel; _he'd go after everything else, and once he had it, he'd never let it go._

How had she not seen this; how had Kragok been able to fool so many, including her great-grandfather, to advance as high as he had within the Legion, spread his nefarious influence over so much of the Legion? His shadow now loomed large over so much of the internal structure of the organisation, there was no facet out of his reach, nothing he couldn't touch with his venomous fingers, no Legionnaire he couldn't influence with honeyed words and poisoned lips. And, as his own words testified, he was beginning to make progress despite, as he saw it, Dimitri's unneeded interference.

XXX

_I thought it would come to this; the mark of a failing leader, one who lacks the courage to make tough decisions and accept the need for sacrifices. Since the loss of his precious Bloodstone he's fallen into timidity, a trait that must be wiped out forever; only the strong survive in war, and there should, there will be no room for weakness within the Legion when I take it over. Dimitri must fall before he has a chance to spread the rot of compassion, the stink of tolerance, any further; the Legionnaires must understand there is only one way, our way – every other creed must either submit or be stamped out._

_The loss of the Bloodstone is a blow, even more so as my idiot relation can't remember where the Master Emerald is located; one strike there and the scales of war would tip back in our favour. With it I could have ended this affair much more quickly, but every cloud has a silver lining; Dimitri has weakened greatly and has lost a lot of face; the story that he was defeated spreads quickly. The troops won't follow someone who's been forced to kiss dust; a couple of words in the right places to the right people and there's a fair grumbling of discontent in the ranks. I know Xenin sympathises with me, Rykor also to a lesser extent; both of them are so reliant upon me for further enhancement that it's almost too easy. A few more toys for them and they'll be mine forever._

XXX

It was like he was three, not two, separate personalities; the Kragok she knew was a mask, little more than a disguise that could be, and would have been had the time been right, thrown aside much like Seraph's borrowed robes. The second facet, that of a sympathetic listener to the common troopers and, more crucially, the sergeants and lieutenants that led them, was also false; between the lines of encouragement lay subtle snares and delusions, designed to sway them from Dimitri's pacifist regime and towards a call for militant action against the EST and the Brotherhood. But this, the Kragok speaking to her from the heart of the book she now held in her hands, was the core, the filthy little secret at the heart of the web of lies he'd weaved about himself. Even the subtlest spider could leave a loose thread, and now it was Lien, the one who had been most beguiled by the serpent's hypnotic dance, who had inadvertently breeched that protection to see the truth. And as she turned the page again, emotions deadened by the shock and terror she felt now, Lien knew that Kragok had reserved his most caustic comments, his most toxic venom, for the one who he should have understood more completely than any other creature walking this earth today.

His own twin.

XXX

_Lien-Da would be useful; her knowledge of cybernetics would allow the indoctrinations to carry on with minimum effort, but she's too stupid to think for herself and see what I'm offering. For someone who's been bed-hopping as often as syphilis, she's so innocent; one drop of blood and she starts hurling, so much as a hint of betrayal, of thinking beyond Dimitri's foolishness and she goes running to great-granddaddy, all weepy and needed love and affection. She sickens me, but I can't underestimate her; she's discovered something useful on the world below, something about a machine having sentience. I need to know more about what she's doing now; there are a few people I know in her research team. Just twist a few arms and I'll get what I need._

XXX

The date was important; she'd known what had come next a few days later. Kragok had led the team that had recovered the only piece of technology she'd ever found a cause to hate. Visions of Metal Sonic, what she'd managed to recall last time she'd seen into his hard drive and the chilling, gleefully relished promise of 'permanent disablement' he'd so nearly meted out to a girl on the surface had nearly driven her to tears, had given her the strength to pre-empt Dimitri's orders and install the Non-Aggression Programme into his software. Well she remembered that harsh parting; having been repaired with his original protection newly refitted, the robotic hedgehog had been led to the gates of Necronopolis, the desire to maim those who had dared treat him this way, emasculate his ability to fight, all but steaming from his bodywork as he was unable to. His CPU was dictated by the NAP; he could not allow himself to strike at any of the echidnas flanking him as the gate opened. He hadn't waited for Dimitri's final warning, merely triggered his thrusters and taken off, rapidly becoming a speck in the distance; Lien had watched him leave from the side of her great-grandfather's impressive metallic mass, regarding the spectacle with detached pleasure and silent pride as she knew she'd safeguarded at least part of the future from the deranged attention of the bitter, destructive robot.

Kragok had publicly agreed whole-heartedly with Dimitri's handling of the entire affair; however now, privately, Lien was let into a very different point of view.

XXX

_To take the emotions from such a perfect weapon is sacrilege. The reports say it in black and white; this robot could be the bane of any who cross our paths; it can be reprogrammed to strike our target. It's a perfect assassin; even with all the backing of the EST, Remington would be easy prey for this device; we could assassinate each head of the guardian's bootlickers as they were chosen until they'd be too afraid to step forwards. Fear breeds discontent, discontent breeds anger, anger breeds dissention and that leads to deserters, heading to us as protection. I can save them from Metal Sonic; a few words into scared ears and they'll melt into pliable material; I can mould that into the soldiers I need._

_But no; sadly the Legion isn't mine yet and officially, all we're after are the emotions. The grand unveiling is tomorrow, Lien having finally got off her backside to do something remotely useful, and then we'll see if my display can sway any opinion. I doubt it, but with a little luck, I can get Metal to talk to me; I can deal with him later – primarily, we can work together to further each other's goals. He can scratch my back, I'll stab his._

_So, that went well._

_Metal is gone for now, but Lien's sure he'll be back He better be for her sake; that ceiling was a calculated risk…_

XXX

Like lightning the thought slammed back into the female echidna's brain; Metal had been contained, she'd created the force-field herself to his personal specifications – if he'd so much as touched it, it would have triggered his internal processor to shut him down in response to the sudden electric shock. But still, the blue robotic doppelganger had been able to escape Necronopolis; for a long time she'd blamed herself even though there'd never been an official investigation; the shield generator on the roof of the conference hall where Metal Sonic had been resurrected had failed for some reason, and he'd wriggled through the breech in the safety net. _But I was wrong_; she snarled, knuckles whitening as she threatened to tear the book apart with a wave of anger-gifted pain; _the generator didn't fail – it was never installed in the first place. Kragok made sure of that – he made sure Metal escaped and the blame was on my shoulders._

Her growling died suddenly, breaking down into a half-strangled sob; there was no way rage could conceal a hurt as deep as this. Kragok was now dead to anything beyond his own wants; he would do everything, hurt and risk anyone, to ensure he would rise above the rest and be seen as the next leader of the Dark Legion. He'd set Metal free and as such had nearly slain two perfectly innocent Mobians, released a twisted killer back into the world, and he'd done it with a smile on his lips. And the worst was yet to come.

XXX

_Thankfully the emotions weren't all there; apparently there are only the most dangerous negative ones present in the software Lien managed to rip out his system. An unexpected bonus; maybe there is some use for emotions after all – soldiers that can only be programmed to hate their opponents, loathe them without pity or compassion – a powerful force indeed. Maybe my armies would be allowed to keep some of their emotions after all, just those that make them more efficient killers._

_The rest, forget them; love, compassion, no good to anyone. The future world won't need them; when I seize control, I'll make things in my image. Don't worry gramps, I won't kill anyone more than necessary; after all the dissenters have been put down for good, I'll put the rest through the surgery to make them perfect; immortal, uncomplaining and maximised for whatever function I say for them. The perfect slaves programmed to obey me and me alone._

_That's why I'll succeed where everyone else screws up; I've read the works of the great tyrants before now and they've all got one thing in common; they all had opponents. Not just those who fought them, but dissenters within their own ranks, who weakened the resolve of the rest. Failing to exterminate them was the main cause of defeat; I will not make the same mistake. I can go one step further than Big Brother; don't control what people think, reprogram them so they can only think what you want them to. Cut out free will forever and, once I've assured my own immortality, I'll be king in my own eternal paradise; I can do what I want; I won't even have to rule, they'll do it all themselves, I won't give them a choice in the matter. I think I'll reprogram Dimitri as my own personal table, or a throne; maybe I'll let him have the emotions of despair and doubt; he can live forever with the knowledge that I won, I'm the greatest, I succeeded where he failed. Lien, she can be a doormat, so I can wipe my feet on her every time I feel like it._

XXX

She could read no more; the cover of the book was slammed back down, the hideous truths it contained blocked from her sight for the moment. Balancing it in her lap, running every scenario described in those few, poisonous pages through her head again, Lien let her head sink into her hands, a few tears falling as she was unable to contain them all. In her mind and in her memories, she allowed the veil to slough away; for the first time in her life, she saw the truth; her brother as she remembered him, was dead; _no_; she shook her covered head, body convulsing with silent sobs as she corrected, was forced to correct, herself; _no, that's wrong – he's not dead. He never existed in the first place_.

This was not her Kragok; this was a megalomaniac dictator, a paranoid psychopath who cared for nothing beyond his own ego, his own thirst for power and his own dreams of greed and conquest. He would create his own personal, perverted paradise; a nightmare where everyone was immortalised into mindless serfs, slaved to his will and his will alone; there would be no love, no joy and no hint of rebellion in this sterile, bleak heaven. Kragok would have the world, and he would do whatever he pleased with it, for there would be no-one left to stop him. _And_; guilt and fear, a fresh wave making all that had gone before it seem as small as ripples compared to a tsunami as the last, greatest and most terrible truth became manifest before her eyes, drowning out all else in a wave of solitude; _it's all at his fingertips._

With a whimper of absolute terror, Lien-Da trembled and collapsed on the bed she sat upon, curling into a foetal ball as her mind blanked and she, unknowingly, began a desperate struggle; the truth was a great burden, and now it sought to snap her sanity forever. Her mind, the mind she was so proud of and so grateful to have as her own, was under a ceaseless attack and was all at once the weapon and the victim of Kragok, the real Kragok's, deadly secrets.

XXX

She walked alone in the orchard of solitude and despair; the vicious trees and straggly plants that existed there tearing at every scrap of her personality, pointing at her naivety, her reliance on other people, every fault she had was examined and exaggerated, her innermost self put on the rack before the penetrating beam of her foul twin's bionic eye as she had no choice but to see it, see the monster Kragok had become, and how well such an evil thing had deceived her. With the illusions gone forever, there was only guilt and blame; she should never have been fooled as badly as she had – with her perfect hindsight, there were so many opportunities to see where she'd gone wrong, so many times she could have broken the conspiracy. But she hadn't; Kragok had spread his perverted desires through the Legion like a virus; he'd wanted the Bloodstone, but as that had been broken forever, he'd been forced to take his path for conquest by a slower, more winding route; he was accruing support from Legionnaires who still desired to fight, unknowing what awaited them if their words allowed him to wrest control of the Legion from Dimitri.

_The world as we know it would end_; a portal opened and the full horror of her brother's polluted, diseased mind rushed through; Lien was thrust into a possible future from a lunatic's nightmare – a place of empty shells and dreams undreamt, as there was no-one left who had the capacity to dream them. Everything was gone; creativity, love, innovation, the spark of the things she cherished from this world crushed forever beneath blank, mindless servility to the one who had made it so. Everything that was green, growing and good had ended, burnt eternally and ground into the dust by her brother's unfeeling claw; Kragok ruled his world with an iron fist, gloating unceasingly of the triumph that was his, the creation of his nirvana. And worse, from here it could spread; with the finest minds of the world; she whimpered, tortured by the thought that, much as he may loathe her, she could be one of them, one of the tools he'd use to continue his evil quest. His banner would carry on, into space; he would ensure his immortality, there was time for this to occur – millennia would roll by uncaringly as his armies amassed to conquer, control and finally extinguish the stars themselves. In the end, if his will was great enough, if he went unexposed for too long, there would be only one light in the galaxy, and its bale redness would preside over an existence of nightmares and sterility. And the mind behind that red light would smile, for what it would see would be good; _a fate worse than death to everything else but him_.

XXX

She stayed there forever, silent, walking alone through the twisting, winding paths, heading towards the fork in the road where her destiny lay; she could stay here, a cowering wreck destroyed by the malice and hate of her brother, or she could rise and try to build from the ruins. Her own head was a war zone; she scrabbled around in her memories, searching for some hint of a good deed she had performed, only to find that spark of praise crushed by guilt and self-doubt as the monstrous betrayal reminded her that she had let this slip unseen past her eyes, that she had let Kragok dupe her with his mask of lies. The struggle raged on, the visions of that wasteland etched into her soul for all time, blasting her with what she could have started, what she could have let begin; _but it's not mine!_

It was the truth, a whisper from the darkness that swirled around her, threatening to swallow her whole into a nightmare of living death. But the visions were alien to her; she could see them, and she was repelled by their evil; she was repelled! _This is not what I want_; the whisper became a low shout, goading the rest of her mind to action, to accept this one, small truth; _I will never want desolation like this – I'll never wish for this. Kragok wants to destroy everything in his way but I don't. I am not like my brother!_

She felt her eyelid move, a conscious acceptance that the doom she had seen was not the same as what was actually going on now, would never be the same as long as she could try to resist it. The breath stirred her nose, she felt the light sensation on the rim of her nostrils, feeling her conscious begin to spread down once more, her soul fighting off the darkness that had imperilled it from seeing the deranged future her brother cherished. In that second, at the final judgement, she decided her fate; _Kragok and I are united by birth_; her lips moved and she pulled them into a snarl, surveying the nightmare beneath her with contempt, struggling to look away, see something else to deny this possible future; _but we are nothing alike in spirit. Nothing…_

There was a scuffling sound, her hand reaching down slowly to her pistol; she would stand against the demon who would make this world his own hell.

_Nothing…!_

More violent her struggles grew as she ghosted over the phantom prison; she had lingered long enough to be repelled by this maniac desire – she had to return, to see justice done and punishment meted out. And the first in line would be the one who had betrayed her, her family, her legion and her very beliefs in such a callous and wanton manner.

_NOTHING!_

XXX

The bedpost cracked as her foot hammered against it; Lien convulsed as she drew in a deep breath, momentarily disorientated as she looked to see, not the fires of a burning world, the low, listless moans of enslaved ghosts, unable to see anything beyond their own function, but a barely lit room, tiny and, most importantly, safe. Safe from her now-insane brother and his mad machinations; a place where she could, would have to, begin anew. After a second of lying down, hunched over as she was, she decided that sitting up would be a good place to begin. This wasn't as easy as it sounded though; she was shivering, weak as though she'd just recovered from a virulent plague; she had to rest as she sat up, the blood pouring from her skull back to her body dizzying as she put a hand on the nearest bedpost to steady herself. _I must have fainted_; she put a hand to her head, feeling exhausted by also strangely elated as well; something important had just happened and that much was certain, but what it had been she couldn't say; all she had left were vague snatches of fevered hallucinations, brought about by the shock of her faint and the revelations that had caused it. A circle of fire, immortal things craving a release and Kragok, grinning crazily as he ruled over a benighted world; she shook herself; she couldn't let such visions distract her now. Not when she remembered where she was and, more importantly, who she was here with.

The book in her lap, toxic and maleficent as it was, had to be kept; as a scientist she knew she would have to dissect it again, read those terrible truths once more and see what could be done to stop them occurring. But not now; now she had to get as far away as possible; she couldn't stand to be part of the Legion now, not where Kragok could see her, or talk to her, or touch her…the shivered, repulsed by the very thought of someone that at the start of the day had been her closest confident and friend now being within a thousand miles of her. He was a poison, and he had affected her once already; it had nearly broken her to purge that poison from herself and she swore, in that dim and miserable room she swore a binding promise that, no matter what the future held, she'd never be beguiled like that again. She sat for a second still, gathering her strength before, with a heave, she stood up, holding herself steady as gravity took a hold of her again; she swayed for an instant before standing straight, exhaling calmly as she reached down for her light. _Lucky the bulb didn't shatter_; such a normal thought made her smile, though in truth she could see little funny in her current predicament and, as such, quickly dismissed it; _I have to get out of here and…where's Seraph?_

XXX

Her first shock came when, having swept the beam around the room his leather failed to be picked out by the beam; her second came when the power line was illuminated, the black snake draping down near enough over the bed she had been huddled on. In that second Lien blessed her lucky star;_ if I'd kicked about too much that would have…wait_; something one the floor showed up in her wavering torch beam; she followed it up to see with a jolt of warm surprise that the fact she hadn't been touched by the swinging cable had nothing at all to do with luck. Seraph had not, as Lien had first suspected, deserted her here in this base; he had, in all probability, saved her life at the cost of his own well-being; there was a partially melted patch on the abdomen of his suit, fused into a new form by the power surge. He was sprawled against the wall, not moving but, then again, Lien wasn't about to take it at face value that he was actually unconscious; he certainly wasn't dead as she saw his chest rise and fall. He was before her, helpless, and she watched on, undecided about what to do next.

_An hour ago_; the irony of the situation wasn't lost on her; _I'd have slit your throat with your own knife for hurting Kragok_; the name was painful, but it was a pain she had to endure and even smile through as she added; _now I only wish you'd hit him harder._ So much could change so quickly; for a few minutes she stood there still, not sure what to do next before, with a certain amount of inevitability, her scientific curiosity got the better of her. Stepping forwards cautiously, ready to make excuses at any stage and keeping her approach as careful as she could in the circumstances, Lien approached the slumbering angel and, after a few minutes deliberation, squatted in front of him. He didn't so much as twitch when she flicked her hand in front of his eyes, or where she guessed his eyes were in relation to his mask, so she logically concluded that he really was unconscious. _In that case_; she moved her hand to his shoulder, feeling the rough leather under her hands as she pulled slowly, tentatively; _let's find out what this is._ The light shone down; Lien elevated it for a clearer view, enough to see down the back of Seraph's leather suit. For a second it didn't make sense; it was only when she saw the top of his shoulder blades, where the skin met the leather, that she understood, or she thought she did. Seraph's unconscious form landed back against the wall as Lien pushed it, looking at what counted as his face as though questing for answers; _you've got wings? What kind of messed up creature are you Seraph?_

She had to admit it was a darkly ironic choice of name; Seraph for a guy with wings, but that still didn't explain much. Naturally she'd assumed her most hated friend had been an echidna; why should she have expected different, but an echidna with wings? She'd never heard of such a thing and none of the journeys she periodically leafed through had ever described such a phenomenon; she had to assume that he was a different species from the land below, one she didn't know about. That said, she didn't know much about the land below at all; were there lots of Mobians like him down there? Well, maybe not like him personally, but of his species? _So much I don't know, so much I want to find out…_; she quelled the thought for her light picked it up – it was just under his mask, on the side of his face. Part of the leather had been pushed upwards by a swelling underneath it, probably caused by impact on the wall; it looked nasty if she could see it through so much material. Without any other real thought, and for once seeking only to do the right thing, Lien reacted to the complaint without a second thought; though the zip was small and difficult to locate, she managed to do so. With a slow, deliberate movement, especially careful as it appeared the release mechanism traced over the injury, the deed was done; with a last tug, Seraph's mask slid free, exposing his head.

XXX

In this, the first time she would see the dark angel unmasked, Lien would remember nothing for one very simple reason; as she probed the swelling caused by the bruise, a hand shot up and seized her wrist. The grip was tight and strong; she realised he was awake again, but had a valid reason for invading his privacy as she had. With a smile, one of sadness rather than her normal, arrogant sneer, she looked down,

"Welcome back to the…"; it was at that point she tailed off as not one, but two realisations made themselves very plain in her sight. The first one was that nothing Seraph had done in the past they had shared was an act of any kind.

The second was that, no matter how great her loss, how keen her sense of betrayal and pain that her brother had been using her for his own ends; no matter how much that hurt, there were some losses that made all she had suffered worth precisely less than nothing.

In those bottomless pupils, black as the river Styx, Lien lost her breath, then her courage; she held onto everything she had – her dreams, aspirations, memories, even her most recent trauma, because it was her, every individual part of that great collection made up a part of her that collectively was called Lien-Da. As their eyes met, Lien found herself lost in that endless void, a black hole of emotions that nothing existed in or escaped from; in desperation, she searched furiously for something she could relate to; a scrap of pain, a drop of memory, but found only a void, purged of everything that made life worth living. She was ensnared by the implications of his dead eyes; the window to a sundered soul that lacked the capacity to care for anything, hardly even itself. All that existed, the only thing that drove this remorseless hunter on, was the simple fact that to carry on as he was, in his unliving life, was just as easy as giving up into the arms of death. In that moment, when a wounded yet still burning life met and linked briefly with something that made the prospect of death more comforting that existence, Lien-Da knew, for the second time in under thirty minutes, that she had found a second fate worse than death.

**Camouflage breeched. Face known to innocent. Security risk now existing. Deal with injury sustained first.**

Something was pulled from her free hand, she let it go without reservation; she could almost see his thoughts dancing in his brain; as if his eyes were transparent, lacking the ability to conceal anything. He blinked, standing in one motion, knocking her over as she couldn't bring herself to stand up or move out the way, still stunned by what she had just seen. _Nothing was there_; she thought back to her earlier guesses an the feverish delusions she still had following her recovery from her faint; _I know Kragok desires nothing less than control, total and utter control_; she watched as Seraph moved over to the bed and casually ripped a strip of fabric from the covers, winding it around his hand as she shuddered, unnerved and unsure of the question that was now posed to her; _it is an evil thing to want, but is having a dream like that better than having no dream at all? To exist by logic and thought your whole life? There's nothing in there_; for a fleeting second she wished she'd never done what she had, that those hideous, ensnaring eyes had remained shielded by the impassive mask that was by comparison a thousand times more merciful to look upon, but at the same time, seeing what could become of her if she gave up, let Kragok's poison break her mind like it had come close to doing; there was an incentive like nothing else on earth.

_It's good I can feel_; for the first time, reminded of her own gifts and senses for possibly the first time in her life, Lien was grateful that she even had a body, could feel emotion as she could. Suddenly everything she took for granted had been restored to the status of a biological miracle; she was blessed with good health and senses; _ I could be like him_; suddenly, as the resentment and anger at Seraph had drained away, Lien felt something else well up for him, alongside the respect his incredible skill demanded – the emotion of pity. She tried to put herself in his shoes, imagine what it would be like to feel nothing, have no memories but she couldn't, she couldn't bring herself to consider it, the gulf was far too wide. _To feel nothing, not love, not anger_; she saw him standing, holding the mirror on Kragok's bed table in one hand, the Sypder in his other – she realised his intention a second too late, seeing at the knife edge bit into the side of his face, the heart of the swelling tissue. His previously white glove stained red as the fingers pressed the edges of the mound, deflating the bump as she watched his reaction – nothing, not a widening of the eyes, not a wince, not a tremor, nothing; _not even pain_. She shook her head, frightened as she drew an invisible line between the Mobian before her and her brother's rabid dream of conquest and corruption; _Seraph is everything Kragok wants his people to be_; he replaced the mirror, pressing the torn fabric to the cut to staunch the blood flow as he reached for his mask; _but he follows his own code, and that code is not evil._

XXX

"Seraph", he turned, halfway through restoring his camouflage; Lien looked down, not wanting to see his flat, emotionless eyes again as she finished, taking the first step on her opposition of Kragok's plans, "I need to borrow the Spyder". His lips twitched, the words spoken in, she realised, the only tone he could manage due to his lack of feeling,

"Reason?"

"There's some stuff in my room I need; I gotta get it and a change of clothes, it's too cold for these damp ones now. Believe me, after what I've just…you are not my enemy".

**Truth. Chance of a lie virtually impossible; sincerity difficult to fake. Delay necessary to heal injury. Ensure security risk followed.**

With a deft movement, he threw the retracted blade to her; she caught it and hurried across the hall, flicking out the business end of the Spyder at the same time as heft the diary in her other hand. She ran through the list of what she had to get from here; thankfully it wasn't very long and she had a convenient bag that would carry it close by in her wardrobe. She quickly broke the lock, one of her own inventions, and hurried inside, hearing the soft footfalls in the other room as Seraph finished treating his injury. She threw the door to her wardrobe open, throwing out the bag and randomly stuffing a few items of clothing into it as time was of the essence; she had to get away before anyone in the Legion tried to come back here, launch a search party. She threw herself over her bed, rolling to her feet to get to her work desk and quick throw open one of the drawers, grabbing her diary and placing it and, she snarled as she had to handle them both, Kragok's as well in with the clothes. It was then she reached back for the last thing she needed, the one thing she had that could, if used properly, negate her insane twin's quest to crush all light and life from the world.

It was a data disk, no different from any of the thousands others used by the Legion on a day to day basis; but what it contained, what was on this disk, was something that would have made her great-grandfather the happiest echidna alive. She had worked upon it in her free time, the odd moment here and there; it wasn't much, but it was a start; working with the flawed data she had downloaded from Metal Sonic's software, she had begun to convert the emotions he could feel into a full package, a true, complete replication of all the emotions a living creature should feel. It was the greatest goal of the Legion, tangible in her hand, the release from death into a metal shell; she gasped, the visions of robotic slaves before her once more, uncomplaining, mute, disallowed their free will as Kragok perverted the good intentions of her great-grandfather. _There has to be another way_; still she sealed the disk in the safest, most secure region of the backpack; _but if there is now I can't see it_.

As soon as she had the zipper done up, she slid her garments from her, using them to towel any lingering water from her fur at the same time as strip a new set of warm, dry clothes from her collection. She paused for a second as her door opened, instinctively covering herself as she saw Seraph enter, only to drop her arms a fraction of a second later. The memory of those uncaring eyes returned and she continued getting changed, no seduction in her mind now as she realised, with a sudden pang of sadness inexplicably for his sake that nothing she did would ever be considered sexy to him; _he just doesn't understand it_. With a sigh, she finished stripping and began to get into her new kit quickly, seeing him impassive out the corner of her eye, looking at her once or twice as if she were just another part of the furniture. _One guy I'll never get_; the thought made her smile sadly, there was little room for comfort now in the face of the bleak future ahead of her.

**Security risk ready. Evacuation recommencing.**

Lien followed him to the head of the stairs and spoke softly,

"We'll have to fly…"

**Security risk upgrade to extreme danger.**

"…I could fall otherwise". She didn't complain as she was swept up, off her feet; there was a sense of slight vertigo as she felt him push off; now with this knowledge of his gift, she knew the reason her fall into the generators had been as gentle as it had. _He carried me_; she stayed still for the few seconds they were airborne together, not complaining as he shifted his grip and threw her over one shoulder, running for the exit. She had more important things on her mind – in the few minutes she had, Lien-Da had to come up with a reason to convince someone who had no sense of compassion or bribery to help her run away from the organisation that had, until a recent, earth-shattering betrayal, been her life.

A/N: Right, I need to know about this. Was Kragok's diary believable – could you see that vision of nightmares? Did you really believe it could happen? Was Lien's reaction plausible, or could it have been done better? I want to put more of these sorts of scenes into future work; I need to know honestly – answers in the review section please :-).


	9. Chapter 8 My Enemies Closer

Chapter 9 – My Enemies Closer.

A/N: Okay, this is the last chapter of this fic; hope you enjoyed it thus far. It's short, but hopefully it'll tie up a couple of loose ends, or maybe it'll leave them dangling. Who knows…?

HHH – Rouge chao? I never played nay chao games – how do they work exactly?

TH – I've continued right to the end of this fic; don't worry, sequel on the way!

Ri2 – 'The bullet that ended my father's life also ended mine'; remember the last chapter of AODAI? It's in Seraph's letter – he saw Nack shoot his father; remember he was only a kid at the time and that's bound to screw you up somewhat. Told you the ceiling would be important didn't I :-).

DH – Yeah, the scene took some doing; I really wanted to convey the sense of nightmare for everyone except Kragok, the only one left who wasn't a mindless serf. I also tried hard to get Lien's sense of horror and betrayal right – the one she felt closest too all her life just basically admits he's a psycho, what would you feel? I personally have no idea how I'd react – maybe I'm lucky like that.

The moonlight dappled the ground around them; despite her extra layers of insulating material, Lien shivered as the cool midnight air ate into her warmth. It was certainly late, the only light coming from the gibbous moon and stars shining down on the echidna lady standing at the entrance to what had once been a base of the Dark Legion and her silent cohort. Just for a fleeting moment, she turned, facing towards the northwest; she knew what lay there, further into the mountain range of Angel Island; nestled there, hidden away from prying eyes and scanning technology, deep veins of iron and other metals within the rocks that made up the base scrambling any devices employed to scan for it, was the citadel of Necronopolis, the stronghold and sanctuary of the Dark Legion. The only world she had ever known, the one place in the world she had called home with the family she loved; it called to her, beckoning her back to the bosom of the Legion – she could find the way, even in this virtual lightlessness. Lien knew the direction back to her base, the terrain she would encounter en route and even, if she was pressed to, the approximate number of steps she would have to take to get home.

And she knew, with a heart of stone, that she could never go back there.

Not now. Not after this.

Some hurts ran too deep to be healed; even as her mind ghosted back to Necronopolis and she embraced the angry but still loved form of her great-grandfather, her heart was rebuffed by the sight at the side of him. The thought of Kragok, disguised as always, poisonous fangs sheathed until the second they'd delivered their noxious bite, looking at her, speaking to her, touching her…she shivered; _no, not yet – I can't do it. I have to face him sometime, but I need time to think, time to get my head around this_. That was a basic truth; a shock so huge, a decision of such magnitude reached so quickly was deadening her senses; on an intellectual level, she knew right now she wasn't feeling any of the emotional backlashes that were sure to follow. And for that, she was thankful; she needed to get as far away as possible as far as possible; there would be time to mourn later. Turning to the side of her, she saw with mild incredulity that, rather than melting into the shadows he appeared to be part of, the strange creature who had inadvertently revealed the toxic truth at the heart of her family was still there, stood almost as though sizing her up; _no, not now. Surely not – he can't still be after me_.

She fought down her apprehension, wetting dry lips with the tip of her tongue as she spoke in a faint, quavering voice; the next, crucial decision would decide what her future held for her, and this time, the decision wasn't hers to make.

"So, what now Seraph?"

**Innocent a security risk. Identity must be concealed.**

He was completely alien to her; behind that faceless mask, she knew, lay something that remained hidden for good reason. The mask disguised his feature but most importantly it disguised his eyes, the windows to his empty soul; they alone would immediately set him apart. He didn't answer her, but now she knew it wasn't a rebuff, or an attempt to act macho or to purposely irritate her; he didn't answer simply because he couldn't. He was completely reactionary; the spark of innovation had been quenched along with everything else – she had to ask the right question to get a limited response because he couldn't think to pre-empt her question. _Right_; she steeled herself for a few questions; _most important first then_;

"You can't kill me".

**Correct. Law states murder illegal – no debt punishable by death**.

He nodded, a clinical answer delivered with minimum fuss and effort, maximum efficiency; _well at least I'm not dead_. Lien managed a weary smile as she spoke again,

"So what can we do now? You don't owe me anything, in fact it's quite the reverse; you probably saved my life back there, so you're a free agent again. Why are you still here?"

"You know my face".

In those four words, that simple little statement delivered in a chillingly colourless tone, she saw it; hope filtered through her almost timidly but even that was enough to warm her as, catalysed by her quick wits, she used that hope as fuel to forge an opportunity to solve both her problem and his own dilemma; _if I'm reading this right, this is one chance I can't afford to miss_;

"I'm a threat to you aren't I; I mean, I know what you look like", that was a lie; she could remember nothing beyond those eyes, or more importantly the endless vacuum behind those eyes; she could barely remember what colour they were, the void had scoured the knowledge away from her. Still, as he nodded, she could use that threat he felt, even if she knew it couldn't be realised, as a chit to get out of this place. If, that was, she could sound convincing enough,

"You don't want me shooting my mouth off; I could tell the world what you are and…"

"I would silence you". She knew that statement wasn't a threat, or a promise; it was the truth, something far more terrifying than either of the other two options. Trying to look appeasing at the same time as cross her fingers, she went for the throat of the issue,

"Well, quite, but listen, let's make a deal".

"State the terms"; his blank visage crept forwards, he was listening to this, summing up what it meant for him as Lien went for broke,

"You need me around to keep an eye on, and I need to get out of here. I can't stay; I have to get away, off this island, anywhere, the land below; you're the only one who can do that. I'll stay with you, as close or as far as you want, if you can get me away from the Legion".

**Compromise efficient – innocent can be monitored in confined space. Deal acceptable.**

_Praise the Heavens_; the weight that dropped from her shoulders hit the floor with an almost audible thump as Seraph, after taking a heart-stopping moment to decide, nodded. Relief was compressed into a verbal form as the female echidna drank in the sweet air of freedom,

"Good, we better get going now; the EST will be all over this place by morning and the last things I need now are awkward questions. The Legion will probably think I'm dead, and that's what I need now, a clean break", she extended on arm, her tone softer now as she realised she could barely see the ground ahead of her, "lead on Seraph; I can't see the path".

She felt a hand on her arm and pressure was applied, seeking to lead her forwards; she resisted for a single instant, one last time she looked upwards, seeing the world she was leaving forever and carrying it deep in her heart for the last time before, with a mighty effort, she broke her glance, yielding to the pressure and taking the first step towards a world far removed from the Legion. A world almost limitless in its scope, a world where she could hide, where she could grow and where, she swore quietly under her breath, she could prepare for the showdown she knew would have to one day be played out in full.

XXX

He'd known it was coming, but it was still a formidable sight and one he didn't relish seeing again; the door had practically been ripped off the hinges and plaster rained down as Dimitri, past caring of the structural damage the Central Dogma encasing him was doing, smashed his way into the small private hospital room, glaring at the occupant of the single bed. Swallowing nervously, Kragok spoke in a high, nasal voice as the gauze holding his shattered nose together would allow him no other tone,

"Good evening…"

"No Kragok", two more footfalls rattled the floor, sending shockwaves through the drip bag suspended from a nearby feed as behind the incensed lord of the Dark Legion medical orderlies rushed to clear themselves from the impact zone, "it is not a good morning; I have just been debriefed by Lieutenant Rykor about the travesty that just happened".

"A moment please and…" A split-second later Kragok whipped his legs apart as, with a mechanical roar that reverberated throughout the room deafeningly, Enerjak's metallic hand crashed through the railings on the end of the bed, the sheer force of the blow buckling the sturdy steel legs. With a yelp Kragok found himself forced up to a forty-five degree angle, right into the blazing eyes of the Central Dogma,

"No moment for you Kragok; I have heard enough", the growls hummed in his ears, the other free hand gripping him around the neck and forcing him to look, not break away as for a brief instant, Kragok feared for his life, "your plan has left everything in ruins! All that I have strived for has been promised with good intentions; I was earning the trust of a small minority of the Echidnopolis council and now this. Kidnapping the mother of the guardian in broad daylight! Threats of unsanctified augmentation! The only thing I am unsure of is whether to be thankful this debacle failed at all".

He was smart enough not to interrupt; he had a hunch that his great-grandfather was leading to something bigger than everything he'd mentioned so far and was interested, and not a little afraid, of what that something might be. In the silence, Enerjak carried on,

"You've squandered millions, gone behind my back and tried to capture targets who now, because of the threat you held against them, will only hate us more, making my job more difficult. I'm trying to get a team together from the remnants to search the place, but most of them are scared stiff – something about a black demon that none of them could hurt, that screamed like a dying soul and hit like a train. The EST will beat us there", for the first time there was something else in the synthesised voice, aside from rage; _what is he sorrowful about? The fact that he will have to choke down his pride to admit the Legion's failure?_; "and when they do, the only thing I can pray for is the body of our fallen is intact".

_The fallen?_; Kragok took a second to digest the news; there had been a fatality in the guardian's escape – even as he was planning how to use the death to spur hatred of the Brotherhood of Guardians in the minds of the other troops, Enerjak finished, the grip around his chest almost squeezing the air from his lungs,

"I see it in your eyes; yes, there has been a death, and I hold you partly responsible Kragok", twin suns of red bored into his single organic eye as the older echidna finished, "because of your impetuousness, I have only a single great-grandchild left".

It took some seconds for the words to reach his brain; for the first few micro-seconds he never had to employ his considerable acting talents as shock dictated his actions,

"Lien…"

"Yes", he could see it in his descendant's eye; the true cost of his folly and the terrible price it had taken, "she was last reported running into the base in a panic; one of the guardian's allies pursued her; nothing has been heard from her since".

"So she's…"

"Officially we must wait a month; until then she's missing", Enerjak's voice lowered, the pain Dimitri was feeling transmitted through the shell of the Central Dogma, "but I know it; in my heart, Lien-Da is lost to the Dark Legion", he pushed forwards, compressing Kragok into the bed, eyes glaring once more as he grated, "and I hold you responsible". Even finding it hard to breathe the second in command squeaked,

"But…"

"But nothing", with a thrust, the bed crashed back down to the floor, Enerjak looming over it ominously as Kragok struggled to recapture his breath, "as of this moment, you are stripped of all your responsibilities; you are a private in the Dark Legion. I will be watching you closely Kragok; one more toe out of line and it will be the end of you as a soldier. Finally", he took a step back, the last point of his judgement about to made clear as he spoke, "you are forbidden corrective surgery to your face; your stupidity caused your sister's end – you'll remember that every time you look in the mirror". For a fleeting second Dimitri tensed in case Kragok would argue with him; certainly the younger echidna's face creased in anger but, no, he reigned it in; humility that this was his fault seeping to the surface as he inclined his head,

"As you will, my Lord" he mumbled quietly; Dimitri nodded, swinging his armoured shoulders around to leave the younger echidna alone with his grief; he had been close to his sister despite their differences; _but first, I must make sure he suffers_;

"By the way, who did attack you in such a manner?"

"I am unsure, Lord Enerjak", Kragok shook his head, "it was dark and my vision was obstructed".

"I'll look into it; I owe him a drink whoever it was", with the last stinging rebuke, he turned to leave from the hole he'd made, "get cleaned up and back on the parade ground; your wounds aren't serious bar your face. I expect to see you there no later than the day after tomorrow, understood?"

"Of course my Lord". Without another word, the grandmaster of the Dark Legion departed; a second after that, Kragok, eye closed in pain, lowered his head underneath the hospital blanket that still covered his mangled bed.

From the outside, it appeared he was sobbing in grief; the bundle under the covers moaned and shook as though in throes of utter despair, but then again, unknown to anyone bar his own mind, Kragok had always, even in the most difficult moments, been able to put on a good show.

_I've been set back_; he giggled again, the tone in his great-grandfather's voice, as though he actively expected him to feel pity for the loss of his twin sister; _I'm a private again, but no matter, the officers still like me – I just have to make sure I get in the right platoon. The face though_; his features contorted, the movement painful as the gauze tugged on the sensitive fur of his muzzle;_ that's something I could do without. Still no matter – the tap was supposed to remove the two greatest threats to the Legion's prosperity_; his claw flexed as, with a smile that no-one else could ever see, a sick, twisted snarl pulled into a rictus expression of desire and conquest, Kragok let a spark dance along the three fingers of his augmented hand; _one out of two isn't bad_!

A/N: Okay, short fic I know, but important. Kragok's been delayed in his sick dreams, but is there enough time for Lien to find herself and prepare to face him once more before he regains his powers? Time will tell.

But then, one tale time has already told –the question asked and, until now, unanswered. But not for long; soon, as one unfortunate will find out, sometimes the things that get to you most are those that never touch you. When physical contact is not allowed, only a Psyche Out will do.


End file.
